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Keokuk 


THE 


HISTORY 


LEE    COUNTY, 


t 


I    O   T^  ^ 


CONTAINING 


jl  !|i$iar^  uf  ll^i  SuttnJ^,  ti$  Sttte$,  lumtt$,  let., 


A    Biographical    Directory  of   Citizens,    War    Record    of  its   Vol 

unteers  in  the  late  Rebellion,  General  and  Local  Statistics, 

Portraits    of  Early    Settlers    and    Prominent    Men, 

History    of  the   Northwest,   History  of  lov/a. 

Map    of   Lee    County,    Constitution    of 

the  United  States,  Miscellaneous 

Matters,  &c. 


ini.IjTJSTI5-.A-TE  i:> 


CHICAGO  : 
WESTERN    HISTORICAL    COMPANY, 

1879. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  ol  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by 

THE      WESTERN      HISTORICAL     COMPANY 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


■a'- 


PREFACE. 


"VTEARLY  sixty  years  have  come  and  gone  since  Dr.  Samuel  C.  Muir  built  a  house 
JL^  at  Puck-e-she-tuck  as  a  permanent  home  for  his  Indian  wife  and  children,  and 
almost  half  a  century  has  been  added  to  the  pages  of  time  since  white  men  began  to 
exercise  dominion  in  the  land  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes.  These  years  were  full  of  change 
and  of  history,  and,  had  some  of  the  vigorous  minds  and  ready  pens  of  the  early  set- 
tlers been  directed  to  the  keeping  of  a  chronological  journal  of  events,  the  record  woulii 
be  invaluable  to  the  local  historian  of  the  present.  With  such  help,  it  would  be  a 
comparatively  easy  task  to  write  a  reliable  and  correct  history.  Without  such  aid,  the 
undertaking  is  a  difficult  one,  and  the  difficulty  is  materially  increased  by  reason  of  the 
absence  of  nearly  all  the  pioneer  fathers  and  mothers. 

Of  those  who  came  here  in  pursuit  of  homes  and  fortunes  between  1833  and  1840, 
but  few  are  left  to  greet  those  who  now  come  to  write  the  local  history  of  their  county — 
a  county  second  to  none  in  the  great  State  of  Iowa  in  point  of  historic  interest.  The 
struggles,  changes  and  vicissitudes  that  fifty  years  evoke  are  as  trying  to  the  minds  as  to 
the  bodies  of  men.  Physical  and  mental  strength  waste  away  together  beneath  accu- 
mulating years,  and  the  memory  of  names,  dates  and  important  events  becomes  buried  in 
the  confusion  brought  by  time  and  its  restless,  unceasing  mutations.  Circumstances 
that  were  fresh  in  memory  ten  and  twenty  years  after  their  occurrence  are  almost,  if  not 
entirely,  forgotten  when  fifty  years  have  gone ;  or,  if  not  entirely  lost  from  the  mind, 
are  so  nearly  so  that,  when  recalled  by  one  seeking  to  preserve  them  in  printed  pages, 
their  memory  comes  slowly  back,  more  like  the  recollections  of  a  midnight  dream  than 
an  actual  occurrence  in  which  they  were  partial,  if  not  active,  participants  and  prominent 
actors.  The  footprint  of  time  leaves  its  impressions  and  destroying  agencies  upon 
everything,  and  hence  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  the  annals,  incidents  and 
happenings  of  almost  half  a  century  in  a  community  like  that  whose  history  we  have 
attempted  to  write,  could  be  preserved  intact  and  unbroken  in  memory  alone. 

In  the  absence  of  written  records,  recourse  was  had  to  the  minds  of  such  of  the 
Pioneers  and  Old  Settlers  as  have  been  spared  to  see  the  wilds  of  1820  and  1833  eman- 
cipated from  Indian  hunting-grounds  and  camping-places  and  made  the  abode  of  thrift, 
wealth,  intelligence,  refinement,  of  schools,  colleges,  churches  and  cities,  of  the  highest 
order.  In  seeking  to  supply  missing  links  in  the  county's  history  by  personal  inter- 
views, difterent  individuals  rendered  different  and  conflicting,  although  honest  and 
sincere,  accounts  of  the  same  events  and  circumstances.  To  sift  these  statements  and 
arrive  at  the  most  reasonable  and  tangible  conclusions  was  a  delicate  task,  but  a  task 
we  sought  to  discharge  with  the  single  purpose  of  writing  of  incidents  as  they  actually 
transpired.  If,  in  such  a  multiplicity  of  names,  dates,  etc.,  some  errors  are  not  detected, 
it  will  be  strange  indeed.     But,  such  as  it  is,  our  offering  is  completed,  and  it  only 


PREFACE. 

remains  for  us  to  acknowledge  our  obligations  to  the  gentlemen  named  below  for  the 
valuable  information  furnished  by  them,  without  which  this  history  of  Lee  County 
would  not  be  so  nearly  perfect  as  it  is  : 

To  Isaac  R.  Campbell  and  Nathan  Smith,  Esqs.,  of  St.  Francisville,  Mo. ; 
Capt.  James  W.  Campbell,  Hon.  Philip  Viele,  Judge  John  Whitaker,  JoNAt< 
S.  Knapp,  John  G.  Kennedy,  Otway  Cutler,  R.  McFarland,  Charles  J. 
Hyde.  A.  L.  Rice,  xIaron  Johnson,  Peter  Miller,  Sr.,  and  others,  of  Fort 
Madison, and  vicinity;  Valencourt  Yanausdol,  Henry  D.  Bartlett.  Col.  James 
C.  Parrott,  Israel  Anderson,  Judge  Edward  Johnstone,  Hon.  Daniel  F. 
Miller,  Sr.,  Col.  William  Patterson,  Col.  James  Monroe  Reid  and  others,  of 
Keokuk;  Alexander  Cruickshank,  Esq.,  of  Franklin  Township;  John  0.  Smith, 
Esq..  of  Denmark;  William  Skinner,  Esq.,  of  Jefierson  Township;  A.  W.  Harlan, 
Esq.,  of  Van  Buren  Township  ;  R.  W.  Pitman,  of  West  Point,  and  D.  C.  Riddick, 
Es<(.,  of  Montrose;  L.  B.  Fleak,  Esq.,  editor  of  the  Brighton  (lowa^  Sun,  and 
Col.  J.  B.  Patterson,  editor  of  the  Oquawka  (111.)  Spectator,  this  paragraph  of 
acknowledgment  is,  therefore,  respectfully  inscribed. 

To  the  press  of  Fort  Madison  and  Keokuk — Dr.  A.  C.  Roberts,  of  the  Democrat, 
and  Messrs.  Tremaine  &  Dawley,  of  the  Plaindealer,  and  R.  V.  Albright,  Esq., 
the  founder  of  the  Courier,  and  to  Messrs.  HowELL  &  Clark,  of  Gate  City,  and 
Messsrs.  Smith,  Clendenin  &  Rees,  of  the  Constitution,  we  are  under  obligations  for 
the  use  of  the  well-preserved  files  of  their  respective  papers,  and  other  journalistic 
courtesies.  Our  thanks  are  also  due  to  the  county  ofl&cers  for  free  access  to  the  books 
and  records  of  their  sevei'al  offices ;  and  to  the  city  and  various  township  authorities,  as- 
well  as  to  the  ministers  and  official  representatives  of  the  various  churches,  and  the 
Principals  and  teachers  of  the  schools  of  the  county,  for  statistical  and  historical  infor- 
mation, without  which  this  volume  would  be  incomplete.  To  the  parties  named  above 
is  due,  in  a  great  measure,  whatever  of  merit  may  be  ascribed  to  this  undertaking. 

To  the  people  of  the  county  in  general,  and  the  citizens  of  Fort  Madison  and  Keo- 
kuk in  particular,  our  most  grateful  considerations  are  due  for  their  universal  kindness 
and  courtesy  to  our  representatives  and  agents  ta^whom  was  intrusted  the  labor  of  col- 
lecting and  arranging  the  information  herein  preserved  to  that  posterity  that  will  come 
in  the  not  far  distant  by-and-by  to  fill  the  places  of  the  fathers  and  mothers,  so  many  of 
whose  names  and  honorable  biographies  are  to  be  found  in  the  pages  of  this  book. 

In  conclusion,  the  publishers  and  writers  can  but  express  the  hope  that,  before 
another  fifty  years  will  have  passed,  other  and  abler  minds  will  have  taken  up  and 
recorded  the  historical  events  that  will  follow  after  the  close  of  this  offering  to  the 
people  of  Lee  County,  that  the  annalistic  literature  of  county  may  be  fully  preserved 
and  maintained  intact  and  unbroken  from  county  to  nation. 

Western  Historical  Company. 
April.  1879. 


CONTENTS. 


HISTORY  NORTHWEST  ABilD  STATE  OF  IOWA. 


Page. 

History  Northwest  Territory 19 

Geographical  Position 19 

Early  Explorations 20 

Discovery  of  the  Ohio 33 

English  Explorations  and  Set- 
tlements   35 

American  Settlements 60 

Division  of  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory   66 

Tecumseh  and  the  War  of  1812  70 
Black   Hawk  and   the    Black 

Hawk  War 74 

Other  Indian  Troubles 79 

Present  Condition  of  the  North- 
west    86 

Chicago 95 

Illinois.... 257 

Indiana 259 

Iowa 260 

Michigan 263 

Wisconsin 264 

Minnesota 266 

Nebraska 267 

History  of  Iowa :  • 

Geographical  Situation 109 

Topography 109 

Drainage  System 110 


Page. 
History  ol  Iowa : 

Kivers Ill 

Lakes 118 

Springs '. 119 

Prairies 120 

Geology 120 

Climatology 137 

Discovery  and  Occupation 139 

Territory 147 

Indians 147 

Pike's  Expedition 151 

Indian  Wars 152 

Black  Hawk  War 157 

Indian  Purchase,  Reserves  and 

Treaties... 159 

Spanish  Grants 163 

Half-Breed  Tract 164 

Early  Settlenients...*.; ..T66' 

Territorial  History 173 

Boundary  Question 177 

State  Organization 181 

Growth  and  Progress 185 

Agricultural  College  and  Farm.186 

State  University 187 

State  Historical  Society 193 

Penitentiaries 194 


Page 
History  of  Iowa: 

Insane  Hospitals 195 

College  for  the  Blind 197 

Deaf  and  Dumb  Institution 199 

Soldiers'  Orphans'  Homes 199 

State  Normal  School 201 

Asylum     for    Feeble    Minded 

Children 201 

Reform  School 202 

Fish  Hatching  Establishment..203 

Public  Lands 204 

Public  Schools 218 

Political  Kecord 223 

War  Kecord 229 

Infantry 233 

Cavalry 244 

Artillery 247 

Miscellaneous 248 

Promotions  from  Iowa  Reg- 
iments  249 

Number  Casualties — Officers.250 
Number  Casualties — Enlist- 
ed Men 252 

Number  Volunteers 254 

Population 255 

Agricultural  Statistics 320 


AlBSTRAtT    or    IOWA    STATE    LAWS. 


Page. 

Adoption  of  Children 303 

Bills  of  Exchange  and  Promissory 

Notes 293 

Commercial  Terms 305 

Capital  Punishment 298 

Charitable,  Scientific  aud  Religious 

Associations 316 

Descent •. 293 

Damages  from  Trespass 300 

Exemptions  from  Execution 298 

Estrays 299 

Forms : 

Articles  of  Agreement  307 

Bills  of  Sale 308 

Bond  for  Deed 315 

Bills  of  Purchase 306 


Page. 
Forms : 

Chattel  Mortgage 314 

Confession  of  Judgment 306 

Lease 312 

Mortgages 310 

Notice  to  Quit 309 

Notes 306,313 

Orders 306 

Quit  Claim  Deed 315 

Receipts 306 

Wills  and  Codicils 309 

Warranty  Deed 314 

Fences 300 

Interest 293 

Intoxicating  Liquors 317 

Jurisdiction  of  Courts 297 


Page. 

Jurors 297 

Limitation  of  Actions 297 

Landlord  and  Tenant 304 

Married  Women 298 

Marks  and  Brands 300 

Mechanics'  Liens 301 

Koads  and  Bridges ; 302 

Surveyors  and  Surveys 303 

Suggestions  to  Persons  Purchasing 
Books  by  Subscription 319 

I  Support  of  Poor 303 

Taxes 295 

Wills  and  Estates 293 

Weights  and  Measures 305 

I  Wolf  Scalps 300 


Page. 

Mouth  of  the  Mississippi 21 

Source  of  the  Mississippi 21 

Wild  Prairie 23 

La  Salle  Landing  on  the  Shore  of 

Green  Bay 25 

Buffalo  Hunt 27 

Trapping 29 

Hunting 32 

Iroquois  Chief 34 

Pontiac,  the  Ottawa  Chieftain 43 

Indians  Attacking  Frontiersmen..    56 
A  Prairie  Storm 59 


Page. 

Map  of  Lee  County Front. 

Constitution  of  United  States 269 

Vote  for  President,  Governor  and 

Congressmen. 283 

Practical  Rules  for  Every-Day  Use..284 
United   States  Government    Land 


ILiIilJSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

A  Pioneer* Dwelling 61 

Breaking  Prairie 63 

Tecumseh,  the  Shawanoe  Chieftain  69 

Indians  Attacking  a  Stockade 72 

Black  Hawk,  the  Sac  Chieftain 75 

Big  Eagle 80 

Captain  Jack,  the  Modoc  Chieftain  83 

Kinzie  House 85 

A  Representative  Pioneer 86 

Lincoln    Monument 87 

A  Pioneer  School  House 88 


MIS€EL.L,  4NK01J!«». 

Page. 

Surveyor's  Measure 288 

How  to  Keep  Accounts 288 

Interest  Table 289 

Miscellaneous  Tai'le 289 

Names  of  the  States  of  the  Union 
and  their  Significations 290 


Measure 287  I  Population  of  the  United  States 291 


Page 

Pioneers'  First  Winter 94 

Great  Iron  Bridge  of  C,  R.  I.  &  P. 
R.  R.,  Crossing  the  Mississippi  at    ■ 

•    Davenport,  Iowa ,   91 

Chicago  in  1833 95 

Old  Fort  Dearborn,  1830 98 

Present  Site  Lake   Street  Bridge, 

Chicago.  1833 98 

Ruins  of  Chicago 104 

View  of  the  City  of  Chicago 106 

Hunting  Prairie  Wolves 268 


Page 
Population  of  Fifty  Principal  Cities 

of  the  United  States 291 

Population  and  Area  of  the  United 

States 292 

Population  of  the  Principal  Coun- 
tries in  the  World 292 


CONTENTS. 


HISTORT   OF    LE^   OOUXTY. 


Page. 

Discovery  of  lowii 324 

Footpiiiite  oil  the  Sands  of  Time. ..325 

The  Aboriginal  0ccui)ant8 326 

Condition  of  tlie  Country  60  Years 

Ago 328 

KecolU'ctions  of  Valenconrt  Van- 

ausdol 333 

Black  Hawk  War 336 

Black  Hawk  Purchase 347 

Other  Purchases 347 

Last  Dajs  of  the  Indians Trr..34S 

Peraonal  Sketches,  Character- 
istics, etc 34S 

Black  Hawk  and  his  Wife 348 

Wapello  and  other  Chiefs 350 

Anecdote  of  Pashapaho 358 

Miscellaneous  Pleasantries,  etc.359 

Wapello's  Death 375 

Ka-Ija-Wa-Quois 375 

Possessing  the  Land 377 

The  Pioneer  Era 377 

Fort  Des  Moines , 381 

Relics 382 

Personal  Sketches  and  Anec- 
dotes  382 

First  Iowa  Counties 384 

First  Election 384 

First  Court 381 

Settlers  of  1835  and  1836 385 

German  Pioneer  Settlers 392 

Fragments 398 

Indian  Gluttony  —  Hominy- 
Blocks  and  Log  Cabins — 
Wild  Game — First  Crops— 
.\musements  of  the  Pio- 
neers, etc 398 

Pioneer    Times    in    Skinner'g^^ 

Neighborhood 402 

(Joingto  Mill  under  Difficulties405 

A  Pione<!r  Dog 405 

Denmark  Settlement 406 

Rail-Pen  Habitations,  etc 406 

Frontier  (Generosity 407 

A  Preacher  in  the  Wildorness.40S 
Gleanings  from  the  Memory  of  A. 

W.  Harlan 410 

Wisconsin  Territory 413 

Physical  Geography 415 

Geology 418 

Coal-Measures 420 

Economical  Geology 426 

Ancient  Mounds 427 

Entomology 42S1 

Political  Economy 430 

Starting  the  County  Machinery430 

First  Election 431 

First  Meeting  of  Board  of  Su- 
pervisors   431 


Page. 
Political  Economy — 

Roads  and  Highways 432 

Last  Orders 434 

County  (commissioners — 434 

Second  Election 435 

Violations     of     the     License 

Law 43U 

County  Jail 4.37 

Iowa  Territory 437 

Government  Lands 439 

Making  and  Protecting  Claim8.4:39 
Land     Sales  —  Squatters     and 

Speculators 440 

County  Seat  on  Wheels 443 

Franklin 443 

Fort  Madison 445 

First  Election 445 

Second  Election 445 

Erection  of  the  Court  House. ..416 

West  Point 446 

A  Scheme  to  Divide  the  County. ...418 
Another  County  Seat  Contest — Fort 

Madison  Victorious 449 

A  Dying  Kick — Keokuk   Placated 

—Notes 450 

Financial  Exhibit 450 

Organization  of  Townships 451 

E.\it  Territorial  Dependency 453 

State  of  Iowa 454 

From  one  Extreme  to  Another 455 

District  Court .459 

Criminal  Mention 461 

Mormouism  and  Mormon  Outrages.465 

Jo  Smith  465 

Danite  Band 468 

Murder  of  Miller  and  Leiza  ...470 

The  Hodges 473 

Expulsion  of  the  Mormons 477 

Old  Settlers'  Association 483 

First  Annual  Re-union 486 

At  Pitman  Grove 487 

At  Sargent's  Grove 488 

At  Keokuk  Fair-Grounds 490 

At  Warren  Station 490 

Capt.  Campbell's  Address 493 

Old  Times  Come  Again 500 

Present  Officers 505 

Agricultural 505 

Races  and  Stock-Show 506 

Lee   County   Agricultural    So- 
ciety  506 

Railroads 507 

Aid  to  Railroads 508 

Keokuk,  Dos  Moines  &  Minne- 
sota Railroad 610 

Keokuk,    Blount    Pleasant    & 
Muscatine  Railroad 510 


Pao  b_ 
Railroads — 

Logansport,  Peoria  &  Warsaw 

Railroad 51 1 

Burlington     &    Southwestern 

Railroad 511 

,  Missouri,  Iowa  and  Nebraska 

i  Railroad '. 511 

I         Fort  Madison  &  Northwestern 

Narrow-Gauge 512 

1  St  Louis,  Keokuk  &  Northern 

Railroad 512 

Disposition   of     the    Railroad 

Aid 512 

I  First  Railroad  Ticket-Office 512 

Plankroad ". 512 

I  Des  Moines  Rapids .513 

The  Canal 513 

Old-time  River  Craft 515 

The  Lightering  Period 515 

Keelboats 516 

Flatboats -. 516 

Steamboats .516 

The  Railroad 517 

'  Des  Moines  River  Improvement 517 

I  Half-Breed  Tract 529 

1  Press 531 

First  Iowa  Newspapers 5.31 

Fort  Madison  Papers .i.32 

Keokuk  Papers 534 

West  Point  Paper 539 

!  Educational  Interests 539 

!  Pioneer  Lawyers 542 

Political  Parties 544 

[  Official  Roster 545 

Representatives  and  Senator8..545 

County  Commissioners 546 

County  Judges 547 

Board  of  Supervisors .547 

County  Auditors 547 

County  Attorneys 547 

Sherifts 547 

Clerks  of  the  District  Court 547 

County  Treasurers 547 

'         Recorders 548 

('ounty      Superintendents     of 

i  Public   Instruction 548 

!  Miscellaneous 548 

Isaac  Galland 548 

Old    Spurlock,    the    Counter- 
feiter  549 

Anti-Horee-Thief  Association 551 

War  History.. 552 

The  First  Ofl'ering 556 

At  Keokuk 558 

Bounty  to  the  Gray-Beards 564 

Volunteer  Soldiery 564 

Roster 5ii5 


HISTORY    OF     KF.OKIIK. 


Page. 

Early  History 615 

Origin  of  Name 616 

Public  Enterprises 626- 

Railroad  and  Wagon  Bridge.. ..626 
Water  Works 627 

Fire  Department 633 

Gas-Light  and  Coke  Company 634 

Banking  Interests 634 

State  National  Bank r..635 

Keokuk   National  Hank 635 

Keokuk  Savings   Bank 635 

Commercial  Bank 630 

Insurance  Companies 636 

Iowa  State  Insurance  Co 636 

Iowa  Life  Insurance  Co .€.36 

Religious  I  nterests 636 

Catholic  Church '. 636 

First  M.  E,  (Church 637 

Chatham  Square  M.  E.Church.639 
German  M.  E.  ('hurch 639 


Page. 
Religious  lntero«ts —  | 

Swedish  M.  B.  Church 640 

First  African  M.  E.  Church 640  ! 

First  Presliyterian  Church 641  j 

First    Westminster    Presbyte- 
rian  Church 041 

United  Presbyterian  Church. ..642 

Congregational  Church 643 

Baptist  Church 644 

Colored  Baptist  Churches 645 

Episcopal  Church 645 

Unitarian  Church 645 

St.  Paul's  Evangelical  Church 

(German) 647 

Congregation  of  B'nai  Israel. ..()47 
Re-organized  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter-Day  Saints..647 

Free-for-AU  Church 649 

Temperance  Work 050 


Pagk. 

Educational  Interests 662 

City  Schools 652 

Natural  History 653 

Library  Association 654 

Commercial  College (ViS 

College    of    Physicians    and    Sur- 
geons   655 

Secret  Societies 656 

Masonic G56 

I.  0.  0.  F 658 

Keokuk  Veteran  Guards 660 

Miscellaneous 661 

Gambrinus 661 

Mills 662 

Iron-Works 662 

Mechanical  Enterprise 663 

Ice-Gorge  of  1832 663 

Reminder  of  Old  Times 664 

Mayors ()(>4' 


CONTENTS. 


HII^TORV     or     FORT    MAOISON. 


Page. 

Early  History 589 

The  First  Settler 592 

Incidents  and  Personal  Sketches. ..598 

Religious  Interests 603 

Presbyterian  Church 603 

Methodist  Church 604 

Christian  Church 604 

Episcopal  Church 605 

Catholic  Churches 605 

Catholic  Schools 606 

Baptist  Church 606 

Colored  Baptist  Church 606 


Page. 
Eeligious  Interests — 

German     Lutheran    and    Re- 
formed Church 607 

Evangelical      Lutheran,      St. 

Paul's  Church 607 

Educational  Interests 607 

Fire  Department 608 

Mills 608 

Potowonok  Mills 608 

Old  Settlers'  Mills 608 

Atlee's  Lumber  Mills 609 

Weston  Mills 610 


Pagh. 

Banking 610 

Concordia  Hall 610 

Secret  Societies 611 

Masonic 611 

Odd  Fellows 611 

Knights  of  Pythias 012 

A.  0.  U.  W 612 

Red  Ribbon  Movement 613 

Plow  Works 614 

Breweries 614 


TOWJT    HISTORIKIS. 

Page.  Page.  I  Page. 

West  Point 664     Nashville 679    Primrose 679 

Denmark 670  i  Croton 679    South  Franklin 679 

Montrose 6;f&J  Pilot  Grove 679    Vincenues 679 

Franklin  Centre 677 '  St.  Paul 679  i  Wever 679 

Charleston 678  ,  j 

BIOGRAHHICAI.    TOWNSHIP    l>IRKCTORT. 


Page. 

Cedar 823 

Charleston 818 

Denmark 867 

Des  Moines 784 

Franklin 774 


Page.  ' 

Harrison  766 

Jefferson 788 

Jackson 719 

Keokuk  City 681 

Madison  722 


Green  Bay 877    Marion  794 


Pack. 

Montrose 757 

Pleasant  Ridge 805 

Van  Buren 884 

Washington 829 

West  Point 853 


l,ITHOGRAPHI€   PORTRAITS. 


Page. 

Atlee.  John  C,  Fort  Madison 355 

Atlee,  S.,  "  593 

Angear,J.J.  M.     "  423 

Bacon,  J.  H.  Jr.    "  611 

Beck,  J.  M.  "  279 

Bower.  R.  F.,  Keokuk 261 


Page. 

Davis,  C.  F.,  Keokuk 627 

Hughes,  J.  C.         "         321 

Henkle,  Amos,  Van  Buren  Tp 457 

Hunt,  J.  P.,  Charleston  Tp 491 

Johnstone,  Edward,  Keokuk 227 


Page. 

Keokuk Frontispiece 

Pittman,  Wm.G.,  West  Point 389 

Rogers,  Millard  H.,  Gieen  Bay  Tp..525 

South,  John,  Charleston  Tp 559 

Skinner,  Wm  ,  Jefferson  Tp 441 


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The    Northwest    Territory. 


GEOGRAPHICAL    POSITION. 

When  the  Northwestern  Territory  was  ceded  to  the  United  States 
by  Virginia  in  1784,  it  embraced  only  the  territory  lying  between  the 
Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  Rivers,  and  north  to  the  northern  limits  of  the 
United  States.  It  coincided  with  the  area  now  embraced  in  the  States 
of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  that  portion  of 
Minnesota  lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  River.  The  United 
States  itself  at  that  period  extended  no  farther  west  than  the  Mississippi 
River;  but  by  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  in  1803,  the  western  boundary 
of  the  United  States  was  extended  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the 
Northern  Pacific  Ocean.  The  new  territory  thus  added  to  the  National 
domain,  and  subsequently  opened  to  settlement,  has  been  called  the 
*'  New  Northwest,"  in  contradistinction  from  the  old  "  Northwestern 
Territory. " 

In  comparison  with  the  old  Northwest  this  is  a  territory  of  vast 
magnitude.  It  includes  an  area  of  1,887,850  square  miles  ;  being  greater 
in  extent  than  the  united  areas  of  all  the  Middle  and  Southern  States, 
including  Texas.  Out  of  this  magnificent  territory  have  been  erected 
eleven  sovereign  States  and  eight  Territories,  with  an  aggregate  popula- 
tion, at  the  present  time,  of  13,000,000  inhabitants,  or  nearly  one  third  of 
the  entire  population  of  the  United  States. 

Its  lakes  are  fresh-water  seas,  and  the  larger  rivers  of  the  continent 
flow  for  a  thousand  miles  through  its  rich  alluvial  valleys  and  far- 
stretching  prairies,  more  acres  of  which  are  arable  and  productive  of  the 
highest  percentage  of  the  cereals  than  of  any  other  area  of  like  extent 
on  the  globe. 

For  the  last  twenty  years  the  increase  of  population  in  the  North- 
west has  been  about  as  three  to  one  in  any  other  portion  of  the  United 
States. 

(19) 


20  THE   NOKTHWEST   TEERITORY. 


EARLY    EXPLORATIONS. 

In  the  year  1541,  DeSoto  first  saw  the  Great  West  in  the  New 
World.  He,  however,  penetrated  no  farther  north  than  the  35th  parallel 
of  latitude.  The  expedition  resulted  in  his  death  and  that  of  more  than 
half  his  army,  the  remainder  of  whom  found  their  way  to  Cuba,  thence 
to  Spain,  in  a  famished  and  demoralized  condition.  DeSoto  founded  no 
settlements,  produced  no  results,  and  left  no  traces,  unless  it  were  that 
he  awakened  the  hostility  of  the  red  man  against  the  white  man,  and 
disheartened  such  as  might  desire  to  follow  up  the  career  of  discovery 
for  better  purposes.  The  French  nation  were  eager  and  ready  to  seize 
upon  any  news  from  this  extensive  domain,  and  were  the  first  to  profit  by 
DeSoto's  defeat.  Yet  it  was  more  than  a  century  before  any  adventurer 
took  advantage  of  these  discoveries. 

In  1616,  four  years  before  the  pilgrims  "  moored  their  bark  on  the 
wild  New  England  shore,"  Le  Caron,  a  French  Franciscan,  had  pene- 
trated through  the  Iroquois  and  Wyandots  (Hurons)  to  the  streams  which 
run  into  Lake  Huron  ;  and  in  1634,  two  Jesuit  missionaries  founded  the 
first  mission  among  the  lake  tribes.  It  was  just  one  hundred  years  from 
the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  by  DeSoto  (1541)  until  the  Canadian 
envoys  met  the  savage  nations  of  the  Northwest  at  the  Falls  of  St.  IMary, 
below  the  outlet  of  Lake  Superior.  This  visit  led  to  no  permanent 
result;  yet  it  was  not  until  1659  that  any  of  the  adventurous  fur  traders 
attempted  to  spend  a  Winter  in  the  frozen  wilds  about  the  great  lakes, 
nor  was  it  until  1660  that  a  station  was  established  upon  their  borders  by 
Mesnard,  who  perished  in  the  woods  a  few  months  after.  In  1665,  Claude 
Allouez  built  the  earliest  lasting  habitation  of  the  white  man  among  the 
Indians  of  tlie  Northwest.  In  1668,  Claude  Dablon  and  James  Marquette 
founded  the  mission  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Mary,  and  two 
years  afterward,  Nicholas  Perrot,  as  agent  for  M.  Talon,  Governor  Gen- 
eral of  Canada,  explored  Lake  Illinois  (Michigan)  as  far  south  as  the 
present  Cit}^  of  Chicago,  and  invited  the  Indian  nations  to  meet  him  at  a 
grand  council  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  the  following  Spring,  Avhere  the}'  were 
taken  under  the  protection  of  the  king,  and  formal  possession  was  taken 
of  the  Northwest.  This  same  year  Marquette  established  a  mission  at 
Point  St.  Igiiatius,  where  was  founded  the  old  town  of  Michillimackinac. 

During  M.  Talon's  explorations  and  jMarquette's  residence  at  St. 
Ignatius,  they  learned  of  a  great  river  away  to  the  west,  and  fancied 
— as  all  others  did  then — that  upon  its  fertile  banks  whole  tribes  of  God's 
children  resided,  to  whom  the  sound  of  the  Gospel  had  never  come. 
Filled  with  a  wish  to  go  and  preach  to  them,   and  in  compliance  with  a 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


21 


22  TBGE   NORTHWEST   TEKRITO^Y. 

request  of  M.  Talon,  who  earnestly  desired  to  extend  the  domain  of  his 
king,  and  to  ascertain  whether  the  river  flowed  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
or  the  Pacific  Ocean,  Marquette  with  Joliet,  as  commander  of  the  expe- 
dition, prepared  for  the  undertaking. 

On  the  loth  of  May,  1673,  the  explorers,  accompanied  by  five  assist- 
ant French  Canadians,  set  out  from  Mackinaw  on  their  daring  voyage  of 
discovery.  The  Indians,  who  gathered  to  witness  their  departure,  were 
astonished  at  the  boldness  of  the  undertaking,  and  endeavored  to  dissuade 
them  from  their  purpose  by  representing  the  tribes  on  the  Mississippi  as 
exceedingly  savage  and  cruel,  and  the  river  itself  as  full  of  all  sorts  of 
frightful  monsters  ready  to  swallow  them  and  their  canoes  together.  But, 
nothing  daunted  by  these  terrific  descriptions,  Marquette  told  them  he 
was  willing  not  only  to  encounter  all  the  perils  of  the  unknown  region 
they  were  about  to  explore,  but  to  lay  down  his  life  in  a  cause  in  which 
the  salvation  of  souls  was  involved;  and  having  prayed  together  they 
separated.  Coasting  along  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  the 
adventurers  entered  Green  Bay,  and  passed  thence  up  the  Fox  River  and 
Lake  Winnebago  to  a  village  of  the  Miamis  and  Kickapoos.  Here  Mar- 
quette was  delighted  to  find  a  beautiful  cross  planted  in  the  middle  of  the 
town  ornamented  with  white  skins,  red  girdles  and  bows  and  arrows, 
which  these  good  people  had  offered  to  the  Great  Manitou,  or  God,  to 
thank  him  for  the  pity  he  had  bestowed  on  them  during  the  Winter  in 
giving  them  an  abundant  "  chase."  This  was  the  farthest  outpost  to 
which  Dablon  and  Allouez  had  extended  their  missionary  labors  the 
year  previous.  Here  Marquette  drank  mineral  waters  and  was  instructed 
in  the  secret  of  a  root  which  cures  the  bite  of  the  venomous  rattlesnake. 
He  assembled  the  chiefs  and  old  men  of  the  village,  and,  pointing  to 
Joliet,  said :  "  My  friend  is  an  envoy  of  France,  to  discover  new  coun- 
tries, and  I  am  an  ambassador  from  God  to  enlighten  them  with  the  truths 
of  the  Gospel."  Two  Miami  guides  were  here  furnished  to  conduct 
them  to  the  Wisconsin  River,  and  they  set  out  from  the  Indian  village  on 
the  10th  of  June,  amidst  a  great  crowd  of  natives  who  had  assembled  to 
witness  their  departure  into  a  region  where  no  white  man  had  ever  yet 
ventured.  The  guides,  having  conducted  them  across  the  portage, 
returned.  The  explorers  launched  their  canoes  upon  the  Wisconsin, 
which  they  descended  to  the  Mississippi  and  proceeded  down  its  unknown 
waters.  What  emotions  must  have  swelled  their  breasts  as  they  struck 
out  into  the  broadening  current  and  became  conscious  that  they  were 
now  upon  the  bosom  of  ths  Father  of  Waters.  The  mystery  was  about 
to  be  lifted  from  the  long-sought  river.  The  scenery  in  that  locality  is 
beautiful,  and  on  that  delightful  seventeenth  of  June  must  have  been 
clad  in  all  its  primeval  loveliness  as  it  had  been  adorned  by  the  hand  of 


THE   NORTHWEST   TEREITORY. 


2S 


Nature.  Drifting  rapidly,  it  is  said  that  the  bold  bluffs  on  either  hand 
"  reminded  them  of  the  castled  shores  of  their  own  beautiful  rivers  of 
France."  By-and-by,  as  they  drifted  along,  great  herds  of  buffalo  appeared 
on  the  banks.  On  going  to  the  heads  of  the  valley  they  could  see  a 
country  of  the  greatest  beauty  and  fertility,  apparently  destitute  of  inhab- 
itants yet  presenting  the  appearance  of  extensive  manors,  under  the  fas- 
tidious cultivation  of  lordly  proprietors. 


THE    WILD    PRAIRIE. 


On  June  25,  they  went  ashore  and  found  some  fresh  traces  of  men  upon 
the  sand,  and  a  path  which  led  to  the  prairie.  The  men  remained  in  the 
boat,  and  Marquette  and  Joliet  followed  the  path  till  they  discovered  a 
village  on  the  banks  of  a  river,  and  two  other  villages  on  a  hill,  within  a 
half  league  of  the  first,  inhabited  by  Indians.  They  were  received  most 
hospitably  by  these  natives,  who  had  never  before  seen  a  white  person. 
After  remaining  a  few  daj's  they  re-embarked  and  descended  the  river  to 
about  latitude  33°,  where  they  found  a  village  of  the  Arkansas,  and  being 
satisfied  that  the  river  flowed  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  turned  their  course 


24  THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

up  the  river,  and  ascending  the  stream  to  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois, 
rowed  up  that  stream  to  its  source,  and  procured  guides  from  that  point 
to  the  lakes.  "  Nowhere  on  this  journey,"  says  Marquette,  ''did  we  see 
such  grounds,  meadows,  woods,  stags,  buffaloes,  deer,  wildcats,  bustards, 
swans,  ducks,  parroquets,  and  even  beavers,  as  on  the  Illinois  River." 
The  party,  without  loss  or  injury,  reached  Green  Bay  in  September,  and 
reported  their  discovery — one  of  the  most  important  of  the  age,  but  of 
which  no  record  was  preserved  save  Marquette's,  Joliet  losing  his  by 
the  upsetting  of  his  canoe  on  his  way  to  Quebec.  Afterward  Marquette 
returned  to  the-  Illinois  Indians  by  their  request,  and  ministered  to  them 
until  1675.  On  the  18th  of  May,  in  that  year,  as  he  was  passing  the 
mouth  of  a  stream — going  with  his  boatmen  up  Lake  Michigan — he  asked 
to  land  at  its  mouth  and  celebrate  Mass.  Leaving  his  men  with  the  canoe, 
he  retired  a  short  distance  and  began  his  devotions.  As  much  time 
passed  and  he  did  not  return,  his  men  went  in  search  of  him,  and  found 
him  upon  his  knees,  dead.  He  had  peacefuU}'  passed  away  while  at 
prayer.  He  was  buried  at  this  spot.  Charlevoix,  who  visited  the  place 
fifty  years  after,  found  the  waters  had  retreated  from  the  grave,  leaving 
the  beloved  missionary  to  repose  in  peace.  The  river  has  since  been 
called  Marquette. 

While  Marquette  and  his  companions  were  pursuing  their  labors  in 
the  West,  two  men,  differing  widely  from  him  and  each  other,  were  pre- 
paring to  follow  in  his  footsteps  and  perfect  the  discoveries  so  well  begun 
by  him.     These  were  Robert  de  La  Salle  and  Louis  Hennepin. 

After  La  Salle's  return  from  the  discovery  of  the  Ohio  River  (see 
the  narrative  elsewhere),  he  established  himself  again  among  the  French 
trading  posts  in  Canada.  Here  he  mused  long  upon  the  pet  project  of 
those  ages — a  short  way  to  China  and  the  East,  and  was  busily  planning  an 
expedition  up  the  great  lakes,  and  so  across  the  continent  to  the  Pacific, 
when  Marquette  returned  from  the  Mississippi.  At  once  the  vigorous  mind 
of  LaSalle  received  from  his  and  his  companions'  stories  the  idea  that  bj'  fol- 
lowing the  Great  River  northward,  or  by  turning  up  some  of  the  numerous 
western  tributaries,  the  object  could  easily  be  gained.  He  applied  to 
Frontenac,  Governor  General  of  Canada,  and  laid  before  him  the  plan, 
dim  but  gigantic.  Frontenac  entered  warmly  into  his  plans,  and  saw  that 
LaSalle's  idea  to  connect  the  great  lakes  by  a  chain  of  forts  with  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  would  bind  the  country  so  wonderfully  together,  give  un- 
measured power  to  France,  and  glory  to  himself,  under  whose  adminis- 
tration he  earnestly  hoped  all  would  be  realized. 

LaSalle  now  repaired  to  France,  laid  his  plans  before  the  King,  who 
warmly  approved  of  them,  and  made  him  a  Chevalier.  He  also  received 
from  all  the  noblemen  the  warmest  wishes   for  his  success.     The  Ghv'^v- 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


25 


alier  returned  to  Canada,  and  busily  entered  upon  his  work.  He  at 
once  rebuilt  Fort  Frontenac  and  constructed  the  first  ship  to  sail  on 
these  fresh-water  seas.  On  the  7th  of  August,  1679,  having  been  joined 
by  Hennepin,  he  began  his  voyage  in  the  Griffin  up  Lake  Erie.  He 
passed  over  this  lake,  through  the  straits  beyond,  up  Lake  St.  Clair  and 
into  Huron.  In  this  lake  they  encountered  heavy  storms.  They  were 
some  time  at  Michillimackinac,  where  LaSalle  founded  a  fort,  and  passed 
on  to  Green  Bay,  the  "  Bale  des  Puans  *'  of  the  French,  where  he  found 
a  large  quantity  of  furs  collected  for  him.  He  loaded  the  Griffin  with 
these,  and   placing  her  under  the   care  of  a  pilot  and   fourteen   sailors. 


LA  SALLE  LANDING  ON  THE  SHORE  OP  GREEN  BAY. 

started  her  on  her  return  voyage.  The  vessel  was  never  afterward  heard 
of.  He  remained  about  these  parts  until  early  in  the  Winter,  when,  hear- 
ing nothing  from  the  Griffin,  he  collected  all  the  men — thirty  working 
men  and  three  monks — and  started  again  upon  his  great  undertaking. 

By  a  short  portage  they  passed  to  the  Illinois  or  Kankakee,  called  by 
the  Indians,  "Theakeke,"  ivolf,  because  of  the  tribes  of  Indians  called 
by  that  name,  commonly  known  as  the  Mahingans,  dwelling  there.  The 
French  pronounced  it  KiaJciki,  which  became  corrupted  to  Kankakee. 
"Falling  down  the  said  river  by  easy  journeys,  the  better  to  observe  the 
country,"  about  the  last  of  December  they  reached  a  village  of  the  Illi- 
nois   Indians,    containing   some   five   hundred    cabins,    but   at   that    moment 


26  THE   NORTHWEST   TEERITORY. 

no  inhabitants.  The  Seur  de  LaSalle  being  in  want  of  some  breadstuffs, 
took  advantage  of  the  absence  of  the  Indians  to  help  himself  to  a  sufiQ- 
ciency  of  maize,  large  quantities  of  which  he  found  concealed  in  holes 
under  the  wigwams.  This  village  was  situated  near  the  present  village 
of  Utica  in  LaSalle  County,  Illinois.  The  corn  being  securely  stored, 
the  voyagers  again  betook  themselves  to  the  stream,  and  toward  evening, 
on  the  4tli  day  of  January,  16S0,  they  came  into  a  lake  which  must  have 
been  the  lake  of  Peoria.  This  was  called  by  the  Indians  Pim-i-te-wi,  that 
is,  a  place  where  there  are  many  fat  beasts.  Here  the  natives  were  met 
with  in  large  numbers,  but  they  were  gentle  and  kind,  and  having  spent 
some  time  with  them,  LaSalle  determined  to  erect  another  fort  in  that 
place,  for  he  had  heard  rumors  that  some  of  the  adjoining  tribes  were 
trying  to  disturb  the  good  feeling  which  existed,  and  some  of  his  men 
were  disposed  to  complain,  owing  to  the  hardships  and  perils  of  the  travel. 
He  called  this  fort  "•  Crevecoeur"'  (broken-heart),  a  name  expressive  of  the 
very  natural  sorrow  and  anxiety  which  the  pretty  certain  loss  of  his  ship. 
Griffin,  and  his  consequent  impoverishment,  the  danger  of  hostility  on  the 
part  of  the  Indians,  and  of  mutiny  among  his  own  men,  might  well  cause 
him.  His  fears  were  not  entirely  groundless.  At  one  time  poison  was 
placed  in  his  food,  but  fortunately  was  discovered. 

While  building  this  fort,  the  Winter  wore  away,  the  prairies  began  to 
look  green,  and  LaSalle,  despairing  of  any  reinforcements,  concluded  to 
return  to  Canada,  raise  new  means  and  new  men,  and  embark  anew  in 
the  enterprise.  For  this  purpose  he  made  Hennepin  the  leader  of  a  party 
to  explore  the  head  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  and  he  set  out  on  his  jour- 
ney. This  journey  was  accomplished  with  the  aid  of  a  few  persons,  and 
was  successfully  made,  though  over  an  almost  u  iknown  route,  and  in  a 
bad  season  of  the  year.  He  safely  reached  Canaia,  and  set  out  again  for 
the  ob.iect  of  his  search. 

Hennepin  and  his  party  left  Fort  Crevecoeur  on  the  last  of  February, 
1680.  When  LaSalle  reached  this  place  on  his  return  expedition,  he 
found  the  fort  entirely  deserted,  and  he  was  obliged  to  return  again  to 
Canada.  He  embarked  the  third  time,  and  succeeded.  Seven  days  after 
leaving  the  fort,  Hennepin  reached  the  Mississippi,  and  paddling  up  the 
icy  stream  as  best  he  could,  reached  no  higher  than  the  Wisconsin  River 
by  the  11th  of  April.  Here  he  and  his  followers  were  taken  prisoners  by  a 
band  of  Northern  Indians,  who  treated  them  with  great  kindness.  Hen- 
nepin's comrades  were  Anthony.  Auguel  and  Michael  Ako.  On  this  voy- 
age they  found  several  beautiful  lakes,  and  "  saw  some  charming  prairies." 
Their  captors  were  the  Isaute  or  Sauteurs,  Chippewas,  a  tribe  of  the  Sioux 
nation,  who  took  them  up  the  river  until  about  the  first  of  May,  when 
they  reached  some  fails,  which  Hennepin  christened  Falls  of  St.  Anthony 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


27 


in  honor  of  his  patron  saint.  Here  they  took  the  land,  and  .traveling 
nearly  two  hundred  miles  to  the  north v/est,  brought  them  to  their  villages. 
Here  they  were  kept  about  three  months,  were  treated  kindly  by  their 
captors,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time,  were  met  by  a  band  of  Frenchmen. 


BUFFALO    HUNT. 

headed  by  one  Seur  de  Luth,  who,  in  pursuit  of  trade  and  game,  had  pene- 
trated thus  far  by  the  route  of  Lake  Superior ;  and  with  these  fellow- 
countrymen  Hennepin  and  his  companions  were  allowed  to  return  to  the 
borders  of  civilized  life  in  November,  1680,  just  after  LaSalle  had 
returned  to  the  wilderness  on  his  second  trip.  Hennepin  soon  after  went 
to  France,  where  he  published  an  account  of  his  adventures. 


28  THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITOEY. 

The  Mississippi  was  first  discovered  by  De  Soto  in  April,  1541,  in  his 
vain  endeavor  to  find  gold  and  precious  gems.  In  the  following  Spring, 
De  Soto,  weary  with  hope  long  deferred,  and  worn  out  with  his  wander- 
ings, he  fell  a  victim  to  disease,  and  on  the  21st  of  May  died.  His  followers, 
reduced  by  fatigue  and  disease  to  less  than  three  hundred  men,  wandered 
about  the  country  nearly  a  year,  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  rescue  them- 
selves by  land,  and  finally  constructed  seven  small  vessels,  called  brigan- 
tines,  in  which  they  embarked,  and  descending  the  river,  supposing  it 
w^ould  lead  them  to  the  sea,  in  July  they  came  to  the  sea  (Gulf  of 
Mexico),  and  by  September  reached  the  Island  of  Cuba. 

They  were  the  first  to  see  the  great  outlet  of  the  Mississippi ;  but, 
being  so  weary  and  discouraged,  made  no  attempt  to  claim  the  country, 
and  hardly  had  an  intelligent  idea  of  what  they  had  passed    through. 

To  La  Salle,  the  intrepid  explorer,  belongs  the  honor  of  giving  the 
£rst  account  of  the  mouths  of  the  river.  His  great  desire  was  to  possess 
this  entire  country  for  his  king,  and  in  January,  1682,  he  and  his  band  of 
explorers  left  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  on  their  third  attempt,  crossed 
the  portage,  passed  down  the  Illinois  River,  and  on  the  6th  of  February, 
reached  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi. 

On  the  13th  they  commenced  their  downward  course,  which  they 
pursued  with  but  one  interruption,  until  upon  the  6th  of  March  they  dis- 
covered the  three  great  passages  by  which  the  river  discharges  its  waters 
into  the  gulf.     La  Salle  thus  narrates  the  event: 

"  We  landed  on  the  bank  of  the  most  western  channel,  about  three 
leagues  (nine  miles)  from  its  mouth.  On  the  seventh,  M.  de  LaSalle 
went  to  reconnoiter  the  shores  of  the  neighboring  sea,  and  M.  de  Tonti 
meanwhile  examined  the  great  middle  channel.  They  found  the  main 
outlets  beautiful,  large  and  deep.  On  the  8th  we  reascended  the  river,  a 
little  above  its  confluence  with  the  sea,  to  find  a  dry  place  beyond  the 
re:^\\  of  inundations.  The  elevation  of  the  North  Pole  was  here  about 
twenty-seven  degrees.  Here  we  prepared  a  column  and  a  cross,  and  to 
the  column  were  afSxed  the  arms  of  France  with  this  inscription : 

Louis  Le  Grand,  Roi  De  France  et  de  Navarre,  regne  ;  Le  neuvieme  Avril,  16S2. 

The  whole  party,  under  arms,  chanted  the  Te  Deum,  and  then,  after 
a  salute  and  cries  of  "  Vive  le  Roi,"  the  column  Avas  erected  by  M.  de 
La  Salle,  who,  standing  near  it,  proclaimed  in  a  loud  voice  the  authority  of 
the  King  of  France.  LaSalle  returned  and  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi settlements  in  Illinois,  thence  he  proceeded  to  France,  where 
another  expedition  was  fitted  out,  of  which  he  was  commander,  and  in  two 
succeeding  voyages  failed  to  find  the  outlet  of  the  river  by  sailing  along 
the  shore  of  the  gulf.     On  his  third  voyage  he  was  killed,  through  the 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


29 


treachery  of  his  followers,  and  the  object  of  his  expeditions  was  not 
accomplished  until  1699,  when  D'lberville,  under  the  authority  of  the 
crown,  discovered,  on  the  second  of  March,  by  way  of  the  sea,  the  mouth 
of  the  "  Hidden  River."  This  majestic  stream  was  called  by  the  natives 
*^  Malbouchia,""    and  by  the  Spaniards,  "  Z«  Palissade^'"  from  the  great 


TRAPPING. 

number  of  trees  about  its  mouth.  After  traversing  the  several  outlets, 
and  satisfying  himself  as  to  its  certainty,  he  erected  a  fort  near  its  western 
outlet,  and  returned  to  France. 

An  avenue  of  trade  was  now  opened  out  which  was  fully  improved. 
In  1718,  New  Orleans  was  laid  out  and  settled  by  some  European  colo- 
nists. In  1762,  the  colony  was  made  over  to  Spain,  to  be  regained  by 
France  under  the  consulate  of   Napoleon.     In   1803,   it  was   purchased   hy 


30  THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

the  United  States  for  the  sum  of  fifteen  million  dollars,  and  the  territory 
of  Louisiana  and  commerce  of  the  Mississippi  River  came  under  the 
charge  of  the  United  States.  Although  LaSalle's  labors  ended  in  defeat 
and  death,  he  had  not  worked  and  suffered  in  vain.  He  had  thrown 
open  to  France  and  the  world  an  immense  and  most  valuable  country ; 
had  established  several  ports,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  more  than  one 
settlement  there.  "  Peoria,  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  are  to  this  day  monu- 
ments of  LaSalle's  labors :  for,  though  he  had  founded  neither  of  them, 
(unless  Peoria,  which  was  built  nearly  upon  the  site  of  Fort  Crevecoeur,) 
it  was  by  those  whom  he  led  into  the  West  that  these  places  were 
peopled  and  civilized.  He  was,  if  not  the  discoverer,  the  first  settler  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  as  such  deserves  to  be  known  and  honored." 

The  French  early  improved  the  opening  made  for  them.  Before  the 
year  1698,  the  Rev.  Father  Gravier  began  a  mission  among  the  Illinois^ 
and  founded  Kaskaskia.  For  some  time  this  was  mereW  a  missionary 
station,  where  none  but  natives  resided,  it  being  one  of  three  such  vil- 
lages, the  other  two  being  Cahokia  and  Peoria.  What  is  known  of 
these  missions  is  learned  from  a  letter  written  by  Father  Gabriel  ]\Iarest, 
dated  "  Aux  Cascaskias,  autrement  dit  de  rimmaculate  Conception  de 
la  Sainte  Vierge,  le  9  Novembre,  1T12."  Soon  after  the  founding  of 
Kaskaskia,  the  missionary.  Pinet,  gathered  a  flock  at  Cahokia,  while 
Peoria  arose  near  the  ruins  of  Fort  Crevecceur.  This  must  have  been, 
about  the  year  1700.  The  post  at  Vincennes  on  the  Oubache  river, 
(pronounced  Wa-bii,  meaning  summer  cloud  movim/  swifflf/')  was  estab- 
lished in  1702,  according  to  the  best  authorities.*  It  is  altogether  prob- 
able that  on  LaSalle's  last  trip  he  established  the  stations  at  Kaskaskia 
and  Cahokia.  In  July,  1701,  the  foundations  of  Fort  Ponchartrain. 
were  laid  by  De  la  Motte  Cadillac  on  the  Detroit  River.  These  sta- 
tions, with  those  established  further  north,  were  the  earliest  attempts  to 
occupy  the  Northwest  Territory.  At  the  same  time  efforts  were  being 
made  to  occupy  the  Southwest,  which  finally  culminated  in  the  settle- 
ment and  founding  of  the  City  of  New  Orleans  by  a  colony  from  England 
in  171S.  This  was  mainly  accomplished  through  the  efforts  of  the 
famous  Mississippi  Company,  established  by  the  notorious  John  Law, 
who  so  quickly  arose  into  prominence  in  France,  and  who  witli  his 
scheme  so  quickly  and  so  ignominiously  passed  away. 

From  the  time  of  the  founding  of  these  stations  for  fifty  years  the 
French  nation  were  engrossed  with  the  settlement  of  the  lower  ^lissis- 
sippi,  and  the  war  with  the  Chicasaws,  who  had,  in  revenge  for  repeated 

•  There  is  consiileraWe  aisputo  about  this  date,  some  asserting  it  was  foundea  as  late  as  174-2.  When 
the  new  court  house  at  Vinoennes  was  erootod,  all  authorities  o;i  the  subject  were  carefully  examined,  anil 
*V03  fixetl  upon  as  the  correct  date.    It  was  accordingly  engraved  ou  the  corner-stone  of  the  court  house. 


THE   NOKTHWEST    TEEKITORY.  31 

injuries,  cut  off  the   entire   colony  at  Natchez.     Although  the  company 
did  little  for  Louisiana,  as  the  entire  West  was  then  called,  yet  it  opened 
the  trade  through  the  Mississippi  River,  and  started  the  raising  of  grains 
indigenous  to  that  climate.     Until  the  year  1750,  but  little  is  known  of 
the  settlements  in  the  Northwest,  as  it  was  not  until  this  time  that  the 
attention  of  the  English  was  called  to  the  occupation  of  this  portion  of  the 
New  World,  which  they  then  supposed  they  owned.     Vivier,  a  missionary 
among  the  Illinois,  writing  from  "'  Aux  Illinois,"  six  leagues  from  Fort 
Chartres,    June  8,   1750,  says:     "We  have  here    whites,  negroes    and 
Indians,  to  say  nothing  of  cross-breeds.     There  are  five  French  villages, 
and  three  villages  of  the  natives,  within  a  space  of  twenty-one  leagues 
situated  between  the  Mississippi  and  another  river  called  the  Karkadaid 
(Kaskaskias).     In  the  five  French  villages  are,  perhaps,  eleven  hundred 
whites,  three  hundred  blacks  and  some  sixty  red  slaves  or  savages.     The 
three  Illinois  towns  do  not  contain  more  than  eight  hundred  souls  all 
told.     Most  of  the  French  till  the  soil;  they  raise  wheat,  cattle,  pigs  and 
horses,  and  live  like  princes.     Three  times  as  much  is  produced  as  can 
be  consumed ;  and  great  quantities  of  grain  and  flour  are  sent  to  New 
Orleans.*'     This  city  was  now  the  seaport  town  of  the  Northwest,  and 
save  in  the  extreme  northern  part,  where  only  furs  and  copper  ore  were 
found,  almost  all  the  products  of  the  country  found  their  way  to  France 
by  the  mouth  of  the  Father  of  Waters.     In  another  letter,  dated  Novem- 
ber 7,  1750,  this    same  priest   says:     "For   fifteen  leagues    above  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi  one  sees  no  dwellings,  the  ground  being  too  low 
to  be  habitable.     Thence  to  New  Orleans,  the  lands  are  only  partially 
occupied.      New   Orleans  contains  black,   white   and  red,  not  more,  I 
think,  than  twelve   hundred  persons.     To  this  point  come  all  lumber, 
bricks,  salt-beef,  tallow,  tar,  skins  and  bear's  grease  ;  and  above  all,  pork 
and  flour  from  the  Illinois.     These  things  create  some  commerce,  as  forty 
vessels   and  more  have   come   hither  this  year.      Above   New   Orleans, 
plantations  are  again  met  with :  the  most  considerable  is  a  colony  of 
Germans,  some  ten  leagues  up  the  river.     At  Point  Coupee,  thirty-five 
leagues  above  the  German  settlement,  is  a  fort.     Along  here,  within  five 
or  six  leagues,  are  not  less  than  sixty  habitations.     Fifty  leagues  farther 
up  is  the  Natchez  post,  where  we  have  a  garrison,  who  are  kept  prisoners 
through  fear  of  the  Chickasaws.     Here  and  at  Point  Coupee,  they  raise 
excellent  tobacco.     Another  hundred  leagues  brings  us  to  the  Arkansas, 
where  we  have  also  a  fort  and  a  garrison  for  the  benefit  of  the  river 
traders.    *     *     *     From  the  Arkansas  to  the  Illinois,  nearly  five  hundred 
leagues,  there  is  not  a  settlement.     There  should  be,  however,  a  fort  at 
the  Oubache  (Ohio),  the  only  path  by  which  the  English  can  reach  the 
Mississippi.     In  the  Illinois  country  are  numberless  mines,  but  no  one  to 


82 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


work  them  as  they  deserve."  Father  Marest,  writing  from  the  post  at 
Vineeniiesin  1812,  makes  the  same  observation.  Vivier  also  says  :  "■  Some 
individuals  dig  lead  near  the  surface  and  supply  the  Indians  and  Canada. 
Two  Spaniards  now  here,  who  claim  to  be  adepts,  say  that  our  mines  are 
like  those  of  Mexico,  and  that  if  we  would  dig  deeper,  we  should  find 
silver  under  the  lead  ;  and  at  any  rate  the  lead  is  excellent.  There  is  also 
in  this  country,  beyond  doubt,  copper  ore,  as  from  time  to  time  large 
pieces  are  found  in  the  streams." 

«-,  .^-.»^- 


HTJXTIXG. 


At  the  close  of  the  year  1750,  the  French  occupied,  in  addition  to  the 
lower  ]\rississip2U  posts  and  those  in  Illinois,  one  at  Du  Quesne,  one  at 
the  Maumee  in  the  country  of  the  Miamis,  and  one  at  Sandusky  in  what 
may  be  termed  the  Ohio  Valley.  In  the  northern  part  of  the  Northwest 
they  liad  stations  at  St.  Joseph's  on  the  St.  Joseph's  of  Lake  Michigan, 
at  Fort  Ponchartrain  (^Detroit),  at  Michillimackanac  or  Massillimacanac, 
Fox  River  of  Green  Bay,  and  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie.  The  fondest  dreams  of 
LaSalle  were  now  fully  realized.  The  French  alone  were  possessors  of 
this  vast  realm,  basing  their  claim  on  discovery  and  settlement.  Another 
nation,  however,  was  now  turning  its  attention  to  this  extensive  country, 


THE   NORTHWEST   TEREITOEY.  33; 

and  hearing  of  its  wealth,  began  to  lay  plans  for  occupying  it  and  for 
securing  the  great  profits  arising  therefrom. 

The  French,  however,  had  another  claim  to  this  country,  namely,  the 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE   OHIO. 

This  "  Beautiful "  river  was  discovered  by  Robert  Cavalier  de  La- 
Salle  in  1669,  four  years  before  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  by  Joliet 
and  Marquette. 

While  LaSalle  was  at  his  trading  post  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  he  found 
leisure  to  study  nine  Indian  dialects,  the  chief  of  which  was  the  Iroquois. 
He  not  only  desired  to  facilitate  his  intercourse  in  trade,  but  he  longed 
to  travel  and  explore  the  unknown  regions  of  the  West.  An  incident 
soon  occurred   which  decided  him   to  fit  out  an  exploring  expedition. 

While  conversing  with  some  Senecas,  he  learned  of  a  river  called  the 
Ohio,  which  rose  in  their  country  and  flowed  to  the  sea,  but  at  such  a 
distance  that  it  required  eight  months  to  reach  its  mouth.  In  this  state- 
ment the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  were  considered  as  one  stream. 
LaSalle  believing,  as  most  of  the  French  at  that  period  did,  that  the  great 
rivers  flowing  west  emptied  into  the  Sea  of  California,  was  anxious  to 
embark  in  the  enterprise  of  discovering  a  route  across  the  continent  to 
the  commerce  of  China  and  Japan. 

He  repaired  at  once  to  Quebec  to  obtain  the  approval  of  the  Gov- 
ernor. His  eloquent  appeal  prevailed.  The  Governor  and  the  Intendant» 
Talon,  issued  letters  patent  authorizing  the  enterprise,  but  made  no  pro- 
vision to  defray  the  expenses.  At  this  juncture  the  seminary  of  St.  Sul- 
pice  decided  to  send  out  missionaries  in  connection  with  the  expedition, 
and  LaSalle  offering  to  sell  his  improvements  at  LaChine  to  raise  money, 
the  offer  was  accepted  by  the  Superior,  and  two  thousand  eight  hundred 
dollars  were  raised,  with  which  LaSalle  purchased  four  canoes  and  the 
necessary  supplies  for  the  outfit. 

On  the  6th  of  July,  1669,  the  party,  numbering  twenty-four  persons, 
embarked  in  seven  canoes  on  the  St.  Lawrence;  two  additional  canoes 
carried  the  Indian  guides.  In  three  days  they  were  gliding  over  the 
bosom  of  Lake  Ontario.  Their  guides  conducted  them  directly  to  the 
Seneca  village  on  the  bank  of  the  Genesee,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present 
City  of  Rochester,  New  York.  Here  they  expected  to  procure  guides  to 
conduct  them  to  the  Ohio,  but  in  this  they  were  disappointed. 

The  Indians  seemed  unfriendly  to  the  enterprise.  LaSalle  suspected 
that  the  Jesuits  had  prejudiced  their  minds  against  his  plans.  After 
waiting  a  month  in  the  hope  of  gaining  their  object,  they  met  an  Indian 


84 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


from  the  Iroquois  colony  at  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario,  who  assured  them 
that  they  could  there  find  guides,  and  offered  to  conduct  them  thence. 

On  their  way  they  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Niagara  River,  when  they 
heard  for  the  first  time  the  distant  thunder  of  the  cataract.    Arriving 


IBOyllOlS    CUIKF. 

amono-  the  Iroquois,  they  met  with  a  friendly  reception,  and  learned 
from  "a  Shawanee  prisoner  that  they  could  reach  the  Ohio  m  six  weeks. 
Delic-hted  Avith  the  unexpected  good  fortune,  they  made  ready  to  resume 
their"  journey;  but  just  as  they  were  about  to  start  they  heard  of  the 
arrival  of  two  Frenchmen  in  a  neighboring  village.  One  of  them  proved 
to  be  Louis  Joliet,  afterwards  famous  as  an  explorer  in  the  West.     He 


THE  NORTHWEST   TERRITOKY.  35 

had  been  sent  by  the  Canadian  Government  to  explore  the  copper  mines 
on  Lake  Su|)erior,  but  had  failed,  and  was  on  his  way  back  to  Quebec. 
He  gave  the  missionaries  a  map  of  the  country  he  had  explored  in  the 
lake  region,  together  with  an  account  of  the  condition  of  the  Indians  in 
that  quarter.  This  induced  the  priests  to  determine  on  leaving  the 
expedition  and  going  to  Lake  Superior.  LaSalle  warned  them  that  the 
Jesuits  were  probably  occupying  that  field,  and  that  they  would  meet 
with  a  cold  reception.  Nevertheless  they  persisted  in  their  purpose,  and 
after  worship  on  the  lake  shore,  parted  from  LaSalle.  On  arriving  at 
Lake  Superior,  they  found,  as  LaSalle  had  predicted,  the  Jesuit  Fathers, 
Marquette  and  Dablon,  occupying  the  field. 

These  zealous  disciples  of  Loyola  informed  them  that  they  wanted 
no  assistance  from  St.  Sulpice,  nor  from  those  who  made  him  their  jDatron 
saint ;  and  thus  repulsed,  they  returned  to  Montreal  the  following  June 
without  having  made  a  single  discovery  or  converted  a  single  Indian, 

After  parting  with  the  priests,  LaSalle  went  to  the  chief  Iroquois 
village  at  Onondaga,  where  he  obtained  guides,  and  passing  thence  to  a 
tributary  of  the  Ohio  south  of  Lake  Erie,  he  descended  the  latter  as  far 
as  the  falls  at  Louisville.  Thus  was  the  Ohio  discovered  by  LaSalle,  the 
persevering  and  successful  French  explorer  of  the  West,  in  1669. 

The  account  of  the  latter  part  of  his  journey  is  found  in  an  anony- 
mous paper,  which  purports  to  have  been  taken  from  the  lips  of  LaSalle 
himself  during  a  subsequent  visit  to  Paris.  In  a  letter  written  to  Count 
Frontenac  in  1667,  shortly  after  the  discovery,  he  himself  says  that  he 
discovered  the  Ohio  and  descended  it  to  the  falls.  This  was  regarded  as 
an  indisputable  fact  by  the  French  authorities,  who  claimed  the  Ohio 
Valley  upon  another  ground.  When  Washington  was  sent  by  the  colony 
of  Virginia  in  1753,  to  demand  of  Gordeur  de  St.  Pierre  why  the  French 
had  built  a  fort  on  the  Monongahela,  the  haughty  commandant  at  Quebec 
replied :  "  We  claim  the  country  on  the  Ohio  by  virtue  of  the  discoveries 
of  LaSalle,  and  will  not  give  it  up  to  the  English.  Our  orders  are  to 
make  prisoners  of  every  Englishman  found  trading  in  the  Ohio  Valley." 


ENGLISH  EXPLORATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS. 

When  the  new  year  of  1750  broke  in  upon  the  Father  of  Waters 
and  the  Great  Northwest,  all  was  still  wild  save  at  the  French  posts 
already  described.  In  1749,  when  the  English  first  began  to  think  seri- 
ously about  sending  men  into  the  West,  the  greater  portion  of  the  States 
of  Indiana,  Ohio,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota  were  yet 
under  the  dominion  of  the  red  men.    The  English  knew,  however,  pretty 


86  THE  NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

conclusivel}'  of  the  nature  of  the  wealth  of  these  wikls.  As  early  as 
1710,  Governor  Spotswood,  of  Virginia,  had  commenced  movements  to 
secure  the  countr}-  west  of  the  Alleghenies  to  the  English  crown.  In 
Pennsylvania,  Governor  Keith  and  James  Logan,  secretary  of  the  prov- 
ince, from  1719  to  1731,  represented  to  the  powers  of  England  the  neces- 
sity of  securing  the  Western  lands.  Nothing  was  done,  however,  by  that 
power  save  to  take  some  diplomatic  steps  to  secure  the  claims  of  Britain 
to  this  unexplored  wilderness. 

England  had  from  the  outset  claimed  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
on  the  ground  that  the  discovery  of  the  seacoast  and  its  possession  was  a 
discovery  and  possession  of  the  countrj',  and,  as  is  well  known,  her  grants 
to  the  colonies  extended  ^  from  sea  to  sea."  This  was  not  all  her  claim. 
She  had  purchased  from  the  Indian  tribes  large  tracts  of  land.  This  lat- 
ter was  also  a  strong  argument.  As  earl}-  as  16S1,  Lord  Howard,  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia,  held  a  treaty  with  the  six  nations.  These  were  the 
great  Northern  Confederacy,  and  comprised  at  first  the  ISIohawks,  Onei- 
das,  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and  Seneeas.  Afterward  the  Tuscaroras  were 
taken  into  the  confederac}*,  and  it  became  known  as  the  Six  Nations. 
They  came  under  the  protection  of  the  mother  country,  and  again  in 
1701,  they  repeated  the  agreement,  and  in  September,  1726,  a  formal  deed 
was  drawn  up  and  signed  by  the  chiefs.  The  validity  of  this  claim  has 
often  been  disputed,  but  never  successfully.  In  1744,  a  purchase  was 
made  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  of  certain  lands  within  the  "  Colony  of 
Virginia,"  for  which  the  Indians  received  £200  in  gold  and  a  like  sum  in 
goods,  with  a  promise  that,  as  settlements  increased,  more  should  be  paid. 
The  Commissioners  from  Virginia  were  Colonel  Thomas  Lee  and  Colonel 
William  Beverly.  As  settlements  extended,  the  promise  of  more  pa}-  was 
called  to  mind,  and  Mr.  Conrad  Weiser  was  sent  across  the  mountains  with 
presents  to  appease  the  savages.  Col.  Lee,  and  some  Virginians  accompa- 
nied him  with  the  intention  of  sounding  the  Indians  upon  their  feelings 
regarding  the  English.  They  were  not  satisfied  with  their  treatment, 
and  plainly  told  the  Commissioners  why.  The  English  did  not  desire  the 
cultivation  of  the  country,  but  the  monopoly  of  the  Indiaa»trade.  In 
1748,  the  Ohio  Company  was  formed,  and  petitioned  the  king  for  a  grant 
of  land  beyond  the  Alleghenies.  This  was  granted,  and  the  government 
of  Virginia  was  ordered  to  grant  to  them  a  half  million  acres,  two  hun- 
dred thousand  of  which  were  to  be  located  at  once.  Upon  the  12th  of 
June,  1749,  800,000  acres  from  the  line  of  Canada  north  and  west  was 
made  to  the  Loyal  Company,  and  on  the  29th  of  October,  1751,  100,000 
acres  were  given  to  the  Greenbriar  Company.  All  this  time  the  French 
were  not  idle.  They  saw  that,  should  the  British  gain  a  foothold  in  tlie 
West,  especially  upon  the  Ohio,  they  might  not  only  prevent  the  French 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  37 

settling  upon  it,  but  in  time  would  come  to  the  lower  posts  and  so  gain 
possession  of  the  whole  country.  Upon  the  10th  of  May,  1774,  Vaud- 
reuil.  Governor  of  Canada  and  the  French  possessions,  well  knowing  the 
consequences  that  must  arise  from  allowing  the  English  to  build  trading- 
posts  in  the  Northwest,  seized  some  of  their  frontier  posts,  and  to  further 
secure  the  claim  of  the  French  to  the  West,  he,  in  1749,  sent  Louis  Cel- 
eron with  a  party  of  soldiers  to  plant  along  the  Ohio  River,  in  the  mounds 
and  at  the  mouths  of  its  principal  tributaries,  plates  of  lead,  on  which 
were  inscribed  the  claims  of  France.  These  were  heard  of  in  1752,  and 
within  the  memory  of  residents  now  living  along  the  ''  Oyo,"  as  the 
beautiful  river  was  called  by  the  French.  One  of  these  plates  was  found 
with  the  inscription  partly  defaced.  It  bears  date  August  16,  1749,  and 
a  copy  of  the  inscription  with  particular  account  of  the  discovery  of  the 
plate,  was  sent  by  DeWitt  Clinton  to  the  American  Antiquarian  Society, 
among  whose  journals  it  may  now  be  found.*  These  measures  did  not, 
however,  deter  the  English  from  going  on  with  their  explorations,  and 
though  neither  party  resorted  to  arms,  yet  the  conflict  was  gathering,  and 
it  was  onl}^  a  question  of  time  when  the  storm  would  burst  upon  the 
frontier  settlements.  In  1750,  Christopher  Gist  was  sent  by  the  Ohio 
Company  to  examine  its  lands.  He  went  to  a  village  of  the  Twigtwees, 
on  the  Miami,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  above  its  mouth.  He 
afterward  spoke  of  it  as  very  populous.  From  there  he  went  down 
the  Ohio  River  nearly  to  the  falls  at  the  present  City  of  Louisville, 
and  in  November  he  commenced  a  survey  of  the  Company's  lands.  Dur- 
ing the  Winter,  General  Andrew  Lewis  performed  a  similar  work  for  the 
Greenbriar  Company.  Meanwhile  the  French  were  bus}^  in  preparing 
their  forts  for  defense,  and  in  opening  roads,  and  also  sent  a  small  party 
of  soldiers  to  keep  the  Ohio  clear.  This  party,  having  heard  of  the  Eng- 
lish post  on  the  Miami  River,  early  in  1652,  assisted  by  the  Ottawas  and 
Chippewas,  attacked  it,  and,  after  a  severe  battle,  in  which  fourteen  of 
the  natives  were  killed  and  others  wounded,  captured  the  garrison. 
(They  were  probably  garrisoned  in  a  block  house).  The  traders  were 
carried  away  to  Canada,  and  one  account  says  several  were  burned.  This 
fort  or  post  was  called  by  the  English  Pickawillany.  A  memorial  of  the 
king's  ministers  refers  to  it  as  "  Pickawillanes,  in  the  center  of  the  terri- 
tory between  the  Ohio  and  the  Wabash.  The  name  is  probably  some 
variation  of  Pickaway  or  Picqua  in  1773,  written  by  Rev.  David  Jones 
Pickaweke." 

*  The  following  is  a  tnnislatioii  of  the  inscriptiou  on  the  plate:  "In  the  year  1749.  reign  of  Louis  XV.. 
King  of  France,  we,  Celeron,  commandant  of  a  detachment  by  Monsieur  the  Marquis  of  Gallisoniere,  com- 
mander-in-chief of  New  France,  to  estaijlish  tranciuility  in  certain  Indian  villages  of  these  cantons,  have 
buried  this  plate  at  the  confluence  of  the  Toradakoin,  this  twenty-ninth  of  July,  near  the  river  Ohio,  otherwise 
Beautiful  River,  as  a  monumeutof  renewal  of  possession  which  we  have  taken  of  the  said  river,  and  all  its 
tributaries;  inasmuch  as  the  preceding  Kings  of  France  have  enjoyed  it,  and  maintained  it  by  their  arms  and 
treaties;  especially  by  tliose  of  Ryswick,  Utrecht,  aad  Aix  La  Chapelle." 


88  THE  NORTHWEST   TERRITOEY. 

This  was  the  first  blood  shed  between  tlie  French  and  English,  and 
occnrred  near  the  present  City  of  Piqua,  Ohio,  or  at  least  at  a  point  about 
forty-seven  miles  north  of  Dayton.  Each  nation  became  now  more  inter- 
ested in  the  progress  of  events  in  the  Northwest.  The  English  deter- 
mined to  purchase  from  the  Indians  a  title  to  the  lands  they  wished  to 
occupy,  and  Messrs.  Fry  (afterward  Commander-in-chief  over  Washing- 
ton at  the  commencement  of  the  French  War  of  1775-1763),  Lomax  and 
Patton  were  sent  in  the  Spring  of  1752  to  hold  a  conference  with  the 
natives  at  Logstown  to  learn  what  they  objected  to  in  the  treaty  of  Lan- 
caster already  noticed,  and  to  settle  all  difficulties.  On  the  9tli  of  June, 
these  Commissioners  met  the  red  men  at  Logstown,  a  little  village  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Ohio,  about  seventeen  miles  below  the  site  of  Pitts- 
burgh. Here  had  been  a  trading  point  for  many  years,  but  it  was  aban- 
doned by  the  Indians  in  1750.  At  first  the  Indians  declined  to  recognize 
the  treaty  of  Lancaster,  but,  the  Commissioners  taking  aside  Montour, 
the  interpreter,  who  was  a  son  of  the  famous  Catharine  Montour,  and  a 
chief  among  the  six  nations,  induced  him  to  use  his  influence  in  their 
favor.  This  he  did,  and  upon  the  13th  of  June  they  all  united  in  signing 
a  deed,  confirming  the  Lancaster  treaty  in  its  full  extent,  consenting  to  a 
settlement  of  the  southeast  of  the  Ohio,  and  guaranteeing  that  it  should 
not  1)6  disturbed  by  them.  These  were  the  means  used  to  obtain  the  first 
treaty  Avith  the  Indians  in  the  Ohio  Valle}'. 

Meanwhile  the  powers  be^'ond  the  sea  were  tr3'ing  to  out-manoeuvre 
each  other,  and  were  professing  to  be  at  peace.  The  English  generally 
outwitted  the  Indians,  and  failed  in  many  instances  to  fulfill  their  con- 
tracts. They  thereby  gained  the  ill-will  of  the  red  men,  and  further 
increased  the  feeling  by  failing  to  provide  them  with  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion. Said  an  old  chief,  at  Easton,  in  1758  :  "  The  Indians  on  the  Ohio 
left  you  because  of  your  own  fault.  When  we  heard  the  French  were 
coming,  we  asked  you  for  help  and  arms,  but  we  did  not  get  them.  The 
French  came,  they  treated  us  kindly,  and  gained  our  affections.  The 
Governor  of  Virginia  settled  on  our  lands  for  his  own  benefit,  and,  when 
we  wanted  help,  forsook  us.'' 

At  the  beginning  of  1653,  the  English  thought  they  had  secured  by 
title  the  lands  in  the  West,  but  the  French  had  quietly  gathered  cannon 
and  military  stores  to  be  in  readiness  for  the  expected  blow.  The  Eng- 
lish made  other  attempts  to  ratify  these  existing  treaties,  but  not  until 
the  Summer  could  the  Indians  be  gathered  together  to  discuss  the  plans 
of  the  French.  They  had  sent  messages  to  the  French,  Avarning  them 
away  ;  but  they  replied  that  they  intended  to  complete  the  chain  of  forts 
already  begun,  and  would  not  abandon  the  field. 

Soon  after  this,  no  satisfaction  bein^"  obtained  from  the  Ohio  regard- 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  39 

ing  the  positions  and  purposes  of  the  French,  Governor  Dinwiddie  of 
Virginia  determined  to  send  to  them  another  messenger  and  learn  from 
them,  if  possible,  their  intentions.  For  this  purpose  he  selected  a  young 
man,  a  surveyor,  who,  at  the  early  age  of  nineteen,  had  received  the  rank 
of  major,  and  who  was  thoroughly  posted  regarding  frontier  life.  This 
personage  was  no  other  than  the  illustrious  George  Washington,  who  then 
held  considerable  interest  in  Western  lands.  He  was  at  this  time  just 
twenty-two  years  of  age.  Taking  Gist  as  his  guide,  the  two,  accompanied 
by  four  servitors,  set  out  on  their  perilous  march.  They  left  Will's 
Creek  on  the  10th  of  November,  1753,  and  on  the  22d  reached  the  Monon- 
gahela,  about  ten  miles  above  the  fork.  From  there  they  went  to 
Logstown,  where  Washington  had  a  long  conference  with  the  chiefs  of 
the  Six  Nations.  From  them  he  learned  the  condition  of  the  French,  and 
also  heard  of  their  determination  not  to  come  down  the  river  till  the  fol- 
lowing Spring.  The  Indians  were  non-committal,  as  they  were  afraid  to 
turn  either  way,  and,  as  far  as  they  could,  desired  to  remain  neutral. 
Washington,  finding  nothing  could  be  done  with  them,  went  on  to 
Venango,  an  old  Indian  town  at  the  mouth  of  French  Creek.  Here  the 
French  had  a  fort,  called  Fort  Machault.  Through  the  rum  and  flattery 
of  the  French,  he  nearly  lost  all  his  Indian  followers.  Finding  nothing 
of  importance  here,  he  pursued  his  way  amid  great  privations,  and  on  the 
11th  of  December  reached  the  fort  at  the  head  of  French  Creek.  Here 
he  delivered  Governor  Dinwiddie's  letter,  received  his  answer,  took  his 
observations,  and  on  the  16th  set  out  upon  his  return  journey  with  no  one 
but  Gist,  his  guide,  and  a  few  Indians  who  still  remained  true  to  him, 
notwithstanding  the  endeavors  of  the  French  to  retain  them.  Their 
homeward  journey  was  one  of  great  peril  and  suffering  from  the  cold,  yet 
they  reached  home  in  safety  on  the  6th  of  January,  1754. 

From  the  letter  of  St.  Pierre,  commander  of  the  French  fort,  sent  by 
Washington  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  it  was  learned  that  the  French  would 
not  give  up  without  a  struggle.  Active  preparations  were  at  once  made 
in  all  the  English  colonies  for  the  coming  conflict,  while  the  French 
finished  the  fort  at  Venango  and  strengthened  their  lines  of  fortifications, 
and  gathered  their  forces  to  be  in  readiness. 

The  Old  Dominion  was  all  alive.  Virginia  was  the  center  of  great 
activities  ;  volunteers  were  called  for,  and  from  all  the  neighboring 
colonies  men  rallied  to  the  conflict,  and  everywhere  along  the  Potomac 
men  were  enlisting  under  the  Governor's  proclamation — which  promised 
two  hundred  thousand  acres  on  the  Ohio.  Along  this  river  they  were 
gathering  as  far  as  Will's  Creek,  and  far  beyond  this  point,  whither  Trent 
had  come  for  assistance  for  his  little  band  of  forty-one  men,  who  were 


40  THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

working"  away  in   hunger  and  want,  to  fortify  that  point  at  the  fork  of 
the  Ohio,  to  which  both  parties  were  looking  with  deep  interest. 

"  The  first  birds  of  Spring  filled  the  air  with  their  song  ;  the  swift 
river  rolled  by  tlie  Allegheny  hillsides,  swollen  by  the  melting  snows  of 
Spring  and  the  April  showers.  The  leaves  were  appearing  ;  a  few  Indian 
scouts  were  seen,  but  no  enemy  seemed  near  at  hand  ;  and  all  was  so  quiet, 
that  Frazier,  an  old  Indian  scout  and  trader,  who  had  been  left  by  Trent 
in  command,  ventured  to  his  home  at  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek,  ten 
miles  up  the  Monongahela.  But,  though  all  was  so  quiet  in  that  wilder- 
ness, keen  eyes  had  seen  the  low  intrenchment  rising  at  the  fork,  and 
swift  feet  had  borne  the  news  of  it  up  the  river  ;  and  upon  the  morning 
of  the  17th  of  April,  Ensign  Ward,  who  then  had  charge  of  it,  saw 
upon  the  Allegheny  a  sight  that  made  his  heart  sink — sixty  batteaux  and 
three  hundred  canoes  filled  with  men,  and  laden  deep  Avith  cannon  and 
stores.  *  *  *  That  evening  he  supped  with  his  captor,  Contrecoeur, 
and  the  next  day  he  was  bowed  off  by  the  Frenchman,  and  with  his  men 
and  tools,  nuxrched  up  the  Monongahela." 

The  French  and  Indian  war  had  begun.  The  treaty  of  Aix  la 
Chapelle,  in  1748,  had  left  the  boundaries  between  the  French  and 
English  possessions  unsettled,  and  the  events  already  narrated  show  the 
French  were  determined  to  hold  the  country  watered  by  the  Mississippi 
and  its  tributaries  ;  while  the  English  laid  claims  to  the  country  by  virtue 
of  the  discoveries  of  the  Cabots,  and  claimed  all  the  country  from  New- 
foundland to  Florida,  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  The 
first  decisive  blow  had  now  been  struck,  and  the  first  attempt  of  the 
English,  through  the  Ohio  Company,  to  occupy  these  lands,  had  resulted 
disastrously  to  them.  The  French  and  Indians  immediately  completed 
the  fortifications  begun  at  the  Fork,  \vliich  they  had  so  easily  captured, 
and  when  completed  gave  to  the  fort  the  name  of  DuQuesne.  Washing- 
ton was  at  Will's  Creek  when  the  news  of  the  capture  of  the  fort  arrived. 
He  at  once  departed  to  recapture  it.  On  his  way  he  entrenched  him- 
self at  a  place  called  the  "•  Meadows,"'  where  he  erected  a  fort  called 
by  him  Fort  Necessity.  From  there  he  surprised  and  captured  a  force  of 
French  and  Indians  marching  against  him,  but  was  soon  after  attacked 
in  his  fort  by  a  much  superior  force,  and  was  obliged  to  yield  on  the 
morning  of  July  4tli.     He  was  allowed  to  return  to  Virginia. 

The  English  Government  immediately  planned  four  campaigns  ;  one 
against  Fort  DuQuesne  ;  one  against  Nova  Scotia ;  one  against  Fort 
Niagara,  and  one  against  Crown  Point.  These  occurred  during  1755-6, 
and  were  not  successful  in  driving  the  French  from  their  possessions. 
The  expedition  against  Fort  DuQuesne  was  led  by  the  famous  General 
Braddock,  who,  refusing  to  listen  to  the  advice  of  Washington  and  those 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  41 

acquainted  with  Indian  warfare,  suffered  such  an  inglorious  defeat.  This 
occurred  on  the  morning  of  July  9th,  and  is  generally  known  as  the  battle 
of  Monongahela,  or  "  Braddock's  Defeat."  The  war  continued  with 
various  vicissitudes  through  the  years  1756-7  ;  when,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  1758,  in  accordance  with  the  plans  of  William  Pitt,  then  Secre- 
tary of  State,  afterwards  Lord  Chatham,  active  preparations  were  made  to 
carry  on  the  war.  Three  expeditions  were  planned  for  this  year :  one, 
under  General  Amherst,  against  Louisburg  ;  another,  under  Abercrombie, 
against  Fort  Ticonderoga  ;  and  a  third,  under  General  Forbes,  against 
Fort  DuQuesne.  On  the  26th  of  July,  Louisburg  surrendered  after  a 
desperate  resistance  of  more  than  forty  days,  and  the  eastern  part  of  the 
Canadian  possessions  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British.  Abercrombie 
captured  Fort  Frontenac,  and  when  the  expedition  against  Fort  DuQuesne, 
of  which  Washington  had  the  active  command,  arrived  there,  it  was 
found  in  flames  and  deserted.  The  English  at  once  took  possession, 
rebuilt  the  fort,  and  in  honor  of  their  illustrious  statesman,  changed  the 
name  to  Fort  Pitt. 

The  great  object  of  the  campaign  of  1759,  was  the  reduction  of 
Canada.  General  Wolfe  was  to  lay  siege  to  Quebec ;  Amherst  was  to 
reduce  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  and  General  Prideaux  was  to 
capture  Niagara.  This  latter  place  was  taken  in  July,  but  the  gallant 
Prideaux  lost  his  life  in  the  attempt.  Amherst  captured  Ticonderoga 
and  Crown  Point  without  a  blow  ;  and  Wolfe,  after  making  the  memor- 
able ascent  to  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  on  September  13th,  defeated 
Montcalm,  and  on  the  18th,  the  city  capitulated.  In  this  engagement 
Montcolm  and  Wolfe  both  lost  their  lives.  De  Levi,  Montcalm's  successor, 
marched  to  Sillery,  three  miles  above  the  city,  with  the  purpose  of 
defeating  the  English,  and  there,  on  the  28th  of  the  following  April,  was 
fought  one  of  the  bloodiest  battles  of  the  French  and  Indian  War.  It 
resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  French,  and  the  fall  of  the  City  of  Montreal. 
The  Governor  signed  a  capitulation  by  which  the  whole  of  Canada  was 
surrendered  to  the  English.  This  practically  concluded  the  war,  but  it 
was  not  until  1763  that  the  treaties  of  peace  between  France  and  England 
were  signed.  This  was  done  on  the  10th  of  February  of  that  year,  and 
under  its  provisions  all  the  country  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  north  of 
the  Iberville  River,  in  Louisiana,  were^ceded  to  England.  At  the  same 
time  Spain  ceded  Florida  to  Great  Britain. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  1760,  Major  Robert  Rogers  was  sent 
from  Montreal  to  take  charge  of  Detroit,  the  only  remaining  French  post 
in  the  territory.  He  arrived  there  on  the  19th  of  November,  and  sum- 
moned the  place  to  surrender.  At  first  the  commander  of  the  post, 
Beletre.  refused,  but  on  the  29th,  hearing  of  the  continued  defeat  of  the 


42  THE  NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

French  arms,  surrendered.  Rogers  remained  there  until  December  23d 
under  the  personal  protection  of  the  celebrated  chief.  Pontiac,  to  whom, 
no  doubt,  he  owed  his  safety.  Pontiac  had  come  here  to  inquire  the 
purposes  of  the  English  in  taking  possession  of  the  country.  He  was 
assured  that  they  came  simply  to  trade  with  the  natives,  and  did  not 
desire  their  country.  This  answer  conciliated  the  savages,  and  did  much 
to  insure  the  safety  of  Rogers  and  his  party  daring  their  stay,  and  while 
on  their  journey  home. 

Rogers  set  out  for  Fort  Pitt  on  December  23,  and  was  just  one 
month  on  the  way.  His  route  was  from  Detroit  to  Maumee,  thence 
across  the  present  State  of  Ohio  directly  to  the  fort.  This  was  the  com- 
mon trail  of  the  Indians  in  their  journeys  from  Sandusky  to  the  fork  of 
the  Ohio.  It  went  from  Fort  Sandusky,  where  Sandusky  City  now  is, 
crossed  the  Huron  river,  then  called  Bald  Eagle  Creek,  to  "  Mohickon 
John's  Town"'  on  Mohickon  Creek,  the  northern  branch  of  White 
Woman's  River,  and  thence  crossed  to  Beaver's  Town,  a  Delaware  town 
on  what  is  now  Sandy  Creek.  At  Beaver's  Town  were  probably  one 
hundred  and  fifty  warriors,  and  not  less  than  three  thousand  acres  of 
cleared  land.  From  there  the  track  went  up  Sandy  Creek  to  and  across 
Big  Beaver,  and  up  the  Ohio  to  Logstown,  thence  on  to  the  fork. 

The  Northwest  Territory  was  now  entirely  under  the  English  rule. 
New  settlements  began  to  be  rapidly  made,  and  the  promise  of  a  large 
trade  was  speedily  manifested.  Had  the  British  carried  out  their  promises 
with  the  natives  none  of  those  savage  butcheries  would  have  been  perpe- 
trated, and  the  country  would  have  been  spared  their  recital. 

The  renowned  chief,  Pontiac,  was  one  of  the  leading  spirits  in  these 
atrocities.  We  will  now  pause  in  our  narrative,  and  notice  the  leading 
events  in  his  life.  The  earliest  authentic  information  regarding  this 
noted  Indian  chief  is  learned  from  an  account  of  an  Indian  trader  named 
Alexander  Henry,  who,  in  the  Spring  of  1761,  penetrated  his  domains  as 
far  as  Missillimacnac.  Pontiac  was  then  a  great  friend  of  the  French, 
but  a  bitter  foe  of  the  English,  whom  he  considered  as  encroaching  on  his 
hunting  grounds.  Henry  was  obliged  to  disguise  himself  as  a  Canadian 
to  insure  safety,  but  was  discovered  by  Pontiac,  who  bitterly  reproached 
him  and  the  English  for  their  attempted  subjugation  of  the  West.  He 
declared  that  no  treaty  had  been  made  with  them;  no  presents  sent 
them,  and  that  he  would  resent  any  possession  of  the  West  by  that  nation. 
He  was  at  the  time  about  fifty  years  of  age,  tall  and  dignified,  and  was 
civil  and  military  ruler  of  the  Ottawas,  Ojibwas  and  Pottawatamies. 

The  Indians,  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  borders  of  North  Carolina, 
were  united  in  this  feeling,  and  at  the  time  of  the  treaty  of  Paris,  ratified 
February  10,  1763,  a   general  conspiracy  was  formed  to  fall  suddenly 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


ta 


PONTIAC,  THE  OTTAWA  CHIEFTAIN. 


44  THE   XOBTHWEST  TERRITORY. 

upon  the  frontier  British  posts,  and  with  one  blow  strike  every  man  dead. 
Poutiac  was  the  marked  leader  in  all  this,  and  was  the  commander 
of  the  Chippewas,  Octawas,  "Wyandots,  Miamis,  Shawanese,  Delawares 
and  Mingoes,  who  had,  for  the  time,  laid  aside  their  local  quarrels  to  unit^ 
in  this  enterprise. 

The  blow  came,  as  near  as  can  now  be  ascertained,  on  Mar  7,  176:-*. 
Nine  British  posts  fell,  and  the  Indians  drank,  "  scooped  up  in  the  hollow 
of  joined  hands,"  the  blood  of  many  a  Briton. 

Pontiac's  immediate  field  of  action  was  the  garrison  at  Detroit. 
Here,  however,  the  plans  were  frustrated  by  an  Indian  woman  disclosing 
the  plot  the  evening  previous  to  his  arrival.  Everything  was  carried  out, 
however,  according  to  Pontiac's  plans  until  the  moment  of  action,  when 
Major  Gladwyn,  the  commander  of  the  post,  stepping  to  one  of  the  Indian 
chiefs,  suddenly  drew  aside  his  blanket  and  disclosed  the  concealed 
musket.  Pontiac,  though  a  brave  man,  turned  pale  and  trembled.  He 
saw  his  plan  was  known,  and  that  the  garrison  were  prepared.  He 
endeavored  to  exculpate  himself  from  any  such  intentions :  but  the  guilt 
was  evident,  and  he  and  his  followers  were  dismissed  with  a  severe 
reprimand,  and  warned  never  to  again  enter  the  walls  of  the  post. 

Pontiac  at  once  laid  siege  to  the  fort,  and  until  the  treaty  of  peace 
between  the  British  and  the  Western  Indians,  concluded  in  August,  1764, 
continued  to  harass  and  besiege  the  fortress.  He  organized  a  regular 
commissariat  department,  issued  bills  of  credit  written  out  on  bark, 
which,  to  his  credit,  it  may  be  stated,  were  punctually  redeemed.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  treaty,  in  which  it  seems  he  took  no  part,  he  went 
further  south,  living  many  years  among  the  Illinois. 

He  had  given  up  all  hope  of  saving  his  country  and  race.  After  a 
time  he  endeavored  to  unite  the  Illinois  tribe  and  those  about  St.  Louis 
in  a  war  with  the  whites.  His  efforts  were  fruitless,  and  only  ended  in  a 
quarrel  between  himself  and  some  Kaskaskia  Indians,  one  of  whom  soon 
afterwards  killed  him.  His  death  was,  however,  avenged  by  the  northern 
Indians,  who  nearly  exterminated  the  Illinois  in  the  wars  which  followed. 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  treachery  of  a  few  of  his  followei's.  his  plan 
for  the  extermination  of  the  whites,  a  masterly  one,  would  undoubtedly 
have  been  carried  out. 

It  was  in  the  Spring  of  the  year  following  Rogers'  visit  that  Alex- 
ander Henry  went  to  Missillimacnac,  and  everywhere  found  the  strongest 
feelings  against  the  English,  who  had  not  carried  out  their  promises,  and 
were  doing  nothing  to  conciliate  the  natives.  Here  he  met  the  chief, 
Pontiac,  who,  after  conveying  to  him  in  a  speech  the  idea  that  their 
French  father  would  awake  soon  and  utterly  destroy  his  enemies,  said : 
'•  Englishman,  although  you  have  conquered  the  French,  you  have  not 


THE  NOETHWEST  TERRITORY.  45 

yet  conquered  us  !  We  are  not  your  slaves !  These  lakes,  these  woods, 
these  mountains,  were  left  us  by  our  ancestors.  They  are  our  inheritance, 
and  we  will  part  with  them  to  none.  Your  nation  supposes  that  we,  like 
the  white  people,  can  not  live  without  bread  and  pork  and  beef.  But  you 
ought  to'know  that  He,  the  Great  Spirit  and  Master  of  Life,  has  provided 
food  for  us  upon  these  broad  lakes  and  in  these  mountains." 

He  then  spoke  of  the  fact  that  no  treaty  had  been  made  with  them, 
no  presents  sent  them,  and  that  he  and  his  people  were  yet  for  war. 
Such  were  the  feelings  of  the  Northwestern  Indians  immediately  after 
the  English  took  possession  of  their  country.  These  feelings  were  no 
doubt  encouraged  by  the  Canadians  and  French,  who  hoped  that  yet  the 
French  arms  might  prevail.  The  treaty  of  Paris,  however,  gave  to  the 
English  the  right  to  this  vast  domain,  and  active  preparations  were  going 
on  to  occupy  it  and  enjoy  its  trade  and  emoluments. 

In  1762,  France,  by  a  secret  treaty,  ceded  Louisiana  to  Spain,  to  pre- 
vent it  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  English,  who  were  becoming  masters 
of  the  entire  West.  The  next  year  the  treaty  of  Paris,  signed  at  Fon- 
tainbleau,  gave  to  the  English  the  domain  of  the  country  in  question. 
Twenty  years  after,  by  the  treaty  of  peace  between  the  United  States 
and  England,  that  part  of  Canada  lying  south  and  west  of  the  Great 
Lakes,  comprehending  a  large  territory  which  is  the  subject  of  these 
sketches,  was  acknowledged  to  be  a  portion  of  the  United  States;  and 
twenty  years  still  later,  in  1803,  Louisiana  was  ceded  by  Spain  back  to 
France,  and  bj^  France  sold  to  the  United  States. 

In  the  half  century,  from  the  building  of  the  Fort  of  Crevecoeur  by 
LaSalle,  in  1680,  up  to  the  erection  of  Fort  Chartres,  many  French  set- 
tlements had  been  made  in  that  quarter.  These  have  already  been 
noticed,  being  those  at  St.  Vincent  (Vincennes),  Kohokia  or  Cahokia, 
Kaskaskia  and  Prairie  du  Rocher,  on  the  American  Bottom,  a  large  tract 
of  ]ich  alluvial  soil  in  Illinois,  on  the  Mississippi,  opposite  the  site  of  St. 
Louis. 

By  the  treaty  of  Paris,  the  regions  east  of  the  Mississippi,  including 
all  these  and  other  towns  of  the  Northwest,  were  given  over  to  England; 
but  they  do  not  appear  to  have  besn  taken  possession  of  until  1765,  when 
Captain  Stirling,  in  the  name  of  the  Majesty  of  England,  established  him- 
self at  Fort  Chartres  bearing  with  him  the  proclamation  of  General  Gage, 
dated  December  30,  1764,  which  promised  religious  freedom  to  all  Cath- 
olics who  worshiped  here,  and  a  right  to  leave  the  country  with  their 
effects  if  they  wished,  or  to  remain  with  the  privileges  of  Englishmen. 
It  was  shortly  after  the  occupancy  of  the  West  by  the  British  that  the 
war  with  Pontiac  opened.  It  is  already  noticed  in  the  sketch  of  that 
chieftain-     By  it  many  a  Briton  lost  his  life,  and  many  a  frontier  settle- 


46  THE   NOETHWEST   TERRITORY. 

ment  in  its  infancy  ceased  to  exist.  This  was  not  ended  until  the  year 
1764,  when,  failing  to  capture  Detroit,  Niagara  and  Fort  Pitt,  his  confed- 
eracy became  disheartened,  and,  receiving  no  aid  from  the  French,  Pon- 
tiac  abandoned  the  enterprise  and  departed  to  the  Illinois,  among  whom 
he  afterward  lost  his  life. 

As  soon  as  these  difficulties  were  definitely  settled,  settlers  began 
rapidly  to  survey  the  country  and  prepare  for  occupation.  During  the 
year  1770,  a  number  of  persons  from  Virginia  and  other  British  provinces 
explored  and  marked  out  nearly  all  the  valuable  lands  on  the  Mononga- 
hela  and  along  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  as  far  as  the  Little  Kanawha.  This 
was  followed  by  another  exploring  expedition,  in  which  George  Washing- 
ton was  a  party.  The  latter,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Craik,  Capt.  Crawford 
and  others,  on  the  20tli  of  October,  1770,  descended  the  Ohio  from  Pitts- 
burgh to  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha ;  ascended  that  stream  about  fourteen. 
miles,  marked  out  several  large  tracts  of  land,  shot  several  buffalo,  which 
were  then  abundant  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  and  returned  to  the  fort. 

Pittsburgh  was  at  this  time  a  trading  post,  about  which  was  clus- 
tered a  village  of  some  twenty  houses,  inhabited  by  Indian  traders.  This 
same  year,  Capt.  Pittman  visited  Kaskaskia  and  its  neighboring  villages. 
He  found  there  about  sixty-five  resident  families,  and  at  Cahokia  only 
forty-five  dwellings.  At  Fort  Chartres  was  another  small  settlement,  and 
at  Detroit  the  garrison  were  quite  prosperous  and  strong.  For  a  year 
or  two  settlers  continued  to  locate  near  some  of  these  posts,  generally 
Fort  Pitt  or  Detroit,  owing  to  the  fears  of  the  Indians,  who  still  main- 
tained some  feelings  of  hatred  to  the  English.  The  trade  from  the  posts 
was  quite  good,  and  from  those  in  Illinois  large  quantities  of  pork  and 
flour  found  their  way  to  the  New  Orleans  market.  At  this  time  the 
policy  of  the  British  Government  was  strongly  opposed  to  the  extension 
of  the  colonies  west.  In  1763,  the  King  of  England  forbade,  by  voyal 
proclamation,  his  colonial  subjects  from  making  a  settlement  beyond  the 
sources  of  the  rivers  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  At  the  instance 
of  the  Board  of  Trade,  measures  were  taken  to  prevent  the  settlement 
without  the  limits  prescribed,  and  to  retain  the  commerce  within  easy 
reach  of  Great  Britain. 

The  commander-in-chief  of  the  king's  forces  wrote  in  1769  :  "  In  the 
course  of  a  few  years  necessity  will  compel  the  colonists,  should  they 
extend  their  settlements  west,  to  provide  manufactures  of  some  kind  for 
themselves,  and  when  all  connection  upheld  by  commerce  with  the  mother 
country  ceases,  an  independency  in  their  government  will  soon  follow." 

In  accordance  with  this  policy,  Gov.  Gage  issued  a  proclamation 
in  1772,  commanding  the  inhabitants  of  Vincennes  to  abandon  their  set- 
Uements  and  join  some  of  the  Eastern  English  colonies.     To  this  they 


THE  NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  47 

strenuously  objected,  giving  good  reasons  therefor,  and  were  allowed  to 
remain.  The  strong  opposition  to  this  policy  of  Great  Britain  led  to  its 
change,  and  to  such  a  course  as  to  gain  the  attachment  of  the  French 
population.  In  December,  1773,  influential  citizens  of  Quebec  petitioned 
the  king  for  an  extension  of  the  boundary  lines  of  that  province,  which 
was  granted,  and  Parliament  passed  an  act  on  June  2,  1774,  extend- 
ing the  boundary  so  as  to  include  the  territory  lying  within  the  present 
States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Michigan. 

In  consequence  of  the  liberal  policy  pursued  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment toward  the  French  settlers  in  the  West,  they  were  disposed  to  favor 
that  nation  in  the  war  which  soon  followed  with  the  colonies  ;  but  the 
early  alliance  between  France  and  America  soon  brought  them  to  the  side 
of  the  war  for  independence. 

In  1774,  Gov.  Dunmore,  of  Virginia,  began  to  encourage  emigration 
to  the  Western  lands.  He  appointed  magistrates  at  Fort  Pitt  under  the 
pretense  that  the  fort  was  under  the  government  of  that  commonwealth. 
One  of  these  justices,  John  Connelly,  who  possessed  a  tract  of  land  in  the 
Ohio  Valley,  gathered  a  force  of  men  and  garrisoned  the  fort,  calling  it 
Fort  Dunmore.  This  and  other  parties  were  formed  to  select  sites  fot 
settlements,  and  often  came  in  conflict  with  the  Indians,  who  yet  claimed 
portions  of  the  valley,  and  several  battles  followed.  These  ended  in  the 
famous  battle  of  Kanawha  in  July,  where  the  Indians  were  defeated  and 
driven  across  the  Ohio. 

During  the  years  1775  and  1776,  by  the  operations  of  land  companies 
and  the  perseverance  of  individuals,  several  settlements  were  firmly  estab- 
lished between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Ohio  River,  and  western  land 
speculators  were  busy  in  Illinois  and  on  the  Wabash.  At  a  council  held 
in  Kaskaskia  on  July  5,  1773,  an  association  of  English  traders,  calling 
themselves  the  "Illinois  Land  Company,"  obtained  from  ten  chiefs  of  the 
Kaskaskia,  Cahokia  and  Peoria  tribes  two  large  tracts  of  land  lying  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  River  south  of  the  Illinois.  In  1775,  a  mer- 
chant from  the  Illinois  Country,  named  Viviat,  came  to  Post  Vincennes 
as  the  agent  of  the  association  called  the  "  Wabash  Land  Company."  On 
the  8th  of  October  he  obtained  from  eleven  Piankeshaw  chiefs,  a  deed  for 
37,497,600  acres  of  land.  This  deed  was  signed  by  the  grantors,  attested 
by  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Vincennes,  and  afterward  recorded  in 
the  office  of  a  notary  public  at  Kaskaskia.  This  and  other  land  com- 
panies had  extensive  schemes  for  the  colonization  of  the  West ;  but  all 
were  frustrated  by  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution.  On  the  20th  of 
April,  17S0,  the  two  companies  named  consolidated  under  the  name  of  the 
"  United  Illinois  and  Wabash  Land  Company."     They  afterward  made 


48  THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 

strenuous  efforts  to  have  these  grants  sanctioned  by  Congress,  but  all 
signally  failed. 

When  the  War  of  the  Revolution  commenced,  Kentucky  was  an  unor- 
ganized country,  though  there  were  several  settlements  within  her  borders. 

In  Hutchins'  Topography  of  Virginia,  it  is  stated  thai:  at  that  time 
*'  Kaskaskia  contained  80  houses,  and  nearly  1,000  white  and  black  in- 
habitants —  the  whites  being  a  little  the  more  numerous.  Cahokia  con- 
tains 50  houses  and  300  white  inhabitants,  and  80  negroes.  There  were 
east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  about  the  year  1771  " — when  these  observa- 
tions were  made  —  "  300  white  men  capable  of  bearing  arms,  and  230 
negroes." 

From  1775  until  the  expedition  of  Clark,  nothing  is  recorded  and 
nothing  known  of  these  settlements,  save  what  is  contained  in  a  report 
made  by  a  committee  to  Congress  in  June,  1778.  From  it  the  following- 
extract  is  made  : 

"Near  the  mouth  of  the  River  Kaskaskia,  there  is  a  village  which 
appears  to  have  contained  nearly  eighty  families  from  the  beginning  of 
the  late  revolution.  There  are  twelve  families  in  a  small  village  at  la 
Prairie  du  Rochers,  and  near  fifty  families  at  the  Kahokia  Village.  There 
are  also  four  or  five  families  at  Fort  Chartres  and  St.  Philips,  which  is  five 
miles  further  up  the  river." 

St.  Louis  had  been  settled  in  February,  1764,  and  at  this  time  con- 
tained, including  its  neighboring  towns,  over  six  hundred  whites  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  negroes.  It  must  be  remembered  that  all  the  country 
west  of  the  Mississippi  was  now  under  French  rule,  and  remained  so  until 
ceded  again  to  Spain,  its  original  owner,  who  afterwards  sold  it  and  the 
country  including  New  Orleans  to  the  United  States.  At  Detroit  there 
were,  according  to  Capt.  Carver,  who  was  in  the  Northwest  from  1766  to 
1768,  more  than  one  hundred  houses,  and  the  river  was  settled  for  more 
than  twenty  miles,  although  poorly  cultivated — the  people  being  engaged 
in  the  Indian  trade.  This  old  town  has  a  history,  which  we  will  here 
relate. 

It  is  the  oldest  town  in  the  Northwest,  having  been  founded  by 
Antoiue  de  Lamotte  Cadillac,  in  1701.  It  was  laid  out  in  the  form  of  an 
oblong  square,  of  two  acres  in  length,  and  an  acre  and  a  half  in  width. 
As  described  by  A.  D.  Frazer,  who  first  visited  it  and  became  a  permanent 
resident  of  the  place,  in  1778,  it  comprised  within  its  limits  that  space 
between  Mr.  Palmer's  store  (Conant  Block)  and  Capt.  Perkins'  house 
(near  the  Arsenal  building),  and  extended  back  as  far  as  the  public  barn, 
and  was  bordered  in  front  by  the  Detroit  River.  It  was  surrounded  by 
oak  and  cedar  pickets,  about  fifteen  feet  long,  set  in  the  ground,  and  had 
four  gates  —  east,  west,  north  and  south.     Over  the  first  three  of  these 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  49 

gates  were  block  houses  provided  with  four  guns  apiece,  each  a  six- 
pounder.  Two  six-gun  batteries  were  planted  fronting  the  river  and  in  a 
parallel  direction  with  the  block  houses.  There  were  four  streets  running 
east  and  west,  the  main  street  being  twenty  feet  wide  and  the  rest  fifteen 
feet,  while  the  four  streets  crossing  these  at  right  angles  were  from  ten 
to  fifteen  feet  in  width. 

At  the  date  spoken  of  by  Mr.  Frazer,  there  was  no  fort  within  the 
enclosure,  but  a  citadel  on  the  ground  corresponding  to  the  present 
northwest  corner  of  Jefferson  Avenue  and  Wayne  Street.  The  citadel  was 
inclosed  by  pickets,  and  within  it  were  erected  barracks  of  wood,  two 
stories  high,  sufficient  to  contain  ten  officers,  and  also  barracks  sufficient 
to  contain  four  hundred  men,  and  a  provision  store  built  of  brick.  The 
citadel  also  contained  a  hospital  and  guard-house.  The  old  town  of 
Detroit,  in  1778,  contained  about  sixty  houses,  most  of  them  one  story, 
with  a  few  a  story  and  a  half  in  height.  They  were  all  of  logs,  some 
hewn  and  some  round.  There  was  one  building  of  splendid  appearance, 
called  the  "  King's  Palace,"  two  stories  high,  which  stood  near  the  east 
gate.  It  was  built  for  Governor  Hamilton,  the  first  governor  commissioned 
by  the  British.  There  were  two  guard-houses,  one  near  the  west  gate  and 
the  other  near  the  Government  House.  Each  of  the  guards  consisted  of 
twenty-four  men  and  a  subaltern,  who  mounted  regularly  every  morning 
between  nine  and  ten  o'clock.  Each  furnished  four  sentinels,  who  weie 
relieved  every  two  hours.  There  was  also  an  officer  of  the  day,  who  pjr- 
formed  strict  duty.  Each  of  the  gates  was  shut  regularly  at  sunset ; 
even  wicket  gates  were  shut  at  nine  o'clock,  and  all  the  keys  were 
delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  commanding  officer.  They  were  opened 
in  the  morning  at  sunrise.  No  Indian  or  squaw  was  permitted  to  enter 
town  with  any  weapon,  such  as  a  tomahawk  or  a  knife.  It  was  a  stand- 
ing order  that  the  Indians  should  deliver  their  arms  and  instruments  of 
every  kind  before  they  were  permitted  to  pass  the  sentinel,  and  they  were 
restored  to  them  on  their  return.  No  more  than  twenty-five  Indians  were 
allowed  to  enter  the  town  at  any  one  time,  and  they  were  admitted  only 
at  the  east  and  west  gates.  At  sundown  the  drums  beat,  and  all  the 
Indians  were  required  to  leave  town  instantly.  There  was  a  council  house 
near  the  water  side  for  the  purpose  of  holding  council  with  the  Indians. 
The  population  of  the  town  was  about  sixty  families,  in  all  about  two 
hundred  males  and  one  hundred  females.  This  town  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  all  except  one  dwelling,  in  1805.  After  which  the  present  ''  new  " 
town  was  laid  out. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  the  British  held  every  post  of 
importance  in  the  West.  Kentucky  was  formed  as  a  component  part  of 
Virginia,  and  the  sturdy  pioneers  of  the  West,  alive  to  their  interests. 


60  THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

and  recognizing  the  great  benefits  of  obtaining  the  control  of  the  trade  in 
this  part  of  the  New  World,  held  steadily  to  their  purposes,  and  those 
within  the  commonwealth  of  Kentucky  proceeded  to  exercise  their 
civil  privileges,  by  electing  John  Todd  and  Richard  Gallaway, 
burgesses  to  represent  them  in  the  Assembly  of  the  parent  state. 
Early  in  September  of  that  year  (1777)  the  first  court  was  held 
in  Harrodsburg,  and  Col.  Bowman,  afterwards  major,  who  had  arrived 
in  August,  was  made  the  commander  of  a  militia  organization  which 
had  been  commenced  the  March  previous.  Thus  the  tree  of  loyalty 
was  growing.  The  chief  spirit  in  this  far-out  colony,  who  had  represented 
her  the  year  previous  east  of  the  mountains,  was  now  meditating  a  move 
unequaled  in  its  boldness.  He  had  been  watching  the  movements  of  the 
British  throughout  the  Northwest,  and  understood  their  whole  plan.  Ht 
saw  it  was  through  their  possession  of  the  posts  at  Detroit,  Vincennes, 
Kaskaskia,  and  other  places,  which  would  give  them  constant  and  easy 
access  to  the  various  Indian  tribes  in  the  Northwest,  that  the  British 
intended  to  penetrate  the  country  from  the  north  and  soutn,  ana  annihi- 
late the  frontier  fortresses.  This  moving,  energetic  man  was  Colonel, 
afterwards  General,  George  Rogers  Clark.  He  knew  the  Indians  were  not 
unanimously  in  accord  with  the  English,  and  he  was  convinced  that,  could 
the  British  be  defeated  and  expelled  from  the  Northwest,  the  natives 
might  be  easily  awed  into  neutrality ;  and  by  spies  sent  for  the  purpose, 
he  satisfied  himself  that  the  enterprise  against  the  Illinois  settlements 
might  easily  succeed.  Having  convinced  himself  of  the  certainty  of  the 
project,  he  repaired  to  the  Capital  of  Virginia,  which  place  he  reached  on 
November  5th.  While  he  was  on  his  way,  fortunately,  on  October  17th, 
Burgoyne  had  been  defeated,  and  the  spirits  of  the  colonists  greatly 
encouraged  thereby.  Patrick  Henry  was  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  at 
once  entered  heartily  into  Clark's  plans.  The  same  plan  had  before  been 
agitated  in  the  Colonial  Assemblies,  but  there  was  no  one  until  Clark 
came  who  was  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  condition  of  affairs  at  the 
scene  of  action  to  be  able  to  guide  them. 

Clark,  having  satisfied  the  Virginia  leaders  of  the  feasibility  of  his 
plan,  received,  on  the  2d  of  January,  two  sets  of  instructions — one  secret, 
the  other  open  —  the  latter  authorized  him  to  proceed  to  enlist  seven 
companies  to  go  to  Kentucky,  subject  to  his  orders,  and  to  serve  three 
months  from  their  arrival  in  the  West.  The  secret  order  authorized  him 
to  arm  these  troops,  to  procure  his  powder  and  lead  of  General  Hand 
at  Pittsburgh,  and  to  proceed  at  once  to  subjugate  the  country. 

With  these  instructions  Clark  repaired  to  Pittsburgh,  choosing  rather 
to  raise  his  men  west  of  the  mountains,  as  he  well  knew  all  were  needed 
in  the  colonies  in  the  conflict  there.     He  sent  Col.  W.  B.  Smith  to  Hoi- 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY.  61 

ston  for  the  same  purpose,  but  neither  succeeded  in  raising  the  required 
number  of  men.  The  settlers  in  these  parts  were  afraid  to  leave  their 
own  firesides  exposed  to  a  vigilant  foe,  and  but  few  could  be  induced  to 
join  the  proposed  expedition.  With  three  companies  and  several  private 
volunteers,  Clark  at  length  commenced  his  descent  of  the  Ohio,  which  he 
navigated  as  far  as  the  Falls,  where  he  took  possession  of  and  fortified 
Corn  Island,  a  small  island  between  the  present  Cities  of  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  and  New  Albany,  Indiana.  Remains  of  this  fortification  may 
yet  be  found.  At  this  place  he  appointed  Col.  Bowman  to  meet  him 
with  such  recruits  as  had  reached  Kentucky  by  the  southern  route,  and 
as  many  as  could  be  spared  from  the  station.  Here  he  announced  to 
the  men  their  real  destination.  Having  completed  his  arrangements, 
and  chosen  his  party,  he  left  a  small  garrison  upon  the  island,  and  on  the 
24th  of  June,  during  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun,  which  to  them  augured 
no  good,  and  which  fixes  beyond  dispute  the  date  of  starting,  he  with 
his  chosen  band,  fell  down  the  river.  His  plan  was  to  go  by  water  as 
far  as  Fort  Massac  or  Massacre,  and  thence  march  direct  to  Kaskaskia. 
Here  he  intended  to  surprise  the  garrison,  and  after  its  capture  go  to 
Cahokia,  then  to  Vincennes,  and  lastly  to  Detroit.  Should  he  fail,  he 
intended  to  march  directly  to  the  Mississippi  River  and  cross  it  into  the 
Spanish  country.  Before  his  start  he  received  two  good  items  of  infor- 
mation :  one  that  the  alliance  had  been  formed  between  France  and  the 
United  States ;  and  the  other  that  the  Indians  throughout  the  Illinois 
country  and  the  inhabitants,  at  the  various  frontier  posts,  had  been  led  to 
believe  by  the  British  that  the  "  Long  Knives"  or  Virginians,  were  the 
most  fierce,  bloodthirsty  and  cruel  savages  that  ever  scalped  a  foe.  With 
this  impression  on  their  minds,  Clark  saw  that  proper  management  would 
cause  them  to  submit  at  once  from  fear,  if  surprised,  and  then  from  grati- 
tude would  become  friendly  if  treated  with'  unexpected  leniency. 

The  march  to  Kaskaskia  was  accomplished  through  a  hot  July  sun, 
and  the  town  reached  on  the  evening  of  July  4.  He  captured  the  fort 
near  the  village,  and  soon  after  the  village  itself  by  surprise,  and  without 
the  loss  of  a  single  man  or  by  killing  any  of  the  enemy.  After  sufficiently 
working  upon  the  fears  of  the  natives,  Clark  told  them  they  were  at  per- 
fect liberty  to  worship  as  they  pleased,  and  to  take  whichever  side  of  the 
great  conflict  they  would,  also  he  would  protect  them  from  any  barbarity 
from  British  or  Indian  foe.  This  had  the  desired  effect,  and  the  inhab- 
itants, so  unexpectedly  and  so  gratefully  surprised  by  the  unlooked 
for  turn  of  affairs,  at  once  swore  allegiance  to  the  American  arms,  and 
when  Clark  desired  to  go  to  Cahokia  on  the  6th  of  July,  they  accom- 
panied him,  and  through  their  influence  the  inhabitants  of  the  place 
surrendered,  and  gladly  placed  themselves  under  his  protection.     Thus 


52  THE   NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 

the  tvro  important  posts  in  Illinois  passed  from  the  hands  of  the  English 
into  the  possession  of  Virginia. 

In  the  person  of  the  priest  at  Kaskaskia,  M.  Gibault,  Clark  found  a 
powerful  ally  and  generous  friend.  Clark  saw  that,  to  retain  possession 
of  the  Northwest  and  treat  successfully  with  the  Indians  within  its  boun- 
daries, he  must  establish  a  government  for  the  colonies  he  had  taken. 
St.  Vincent,  the  next  important  post  to  Detroit,remained  yet  to  be  taken 
before  the  Mississippi  Valley  was  conquered.  M.  Gibault  told  him  that 
he  would  alone,  by  persuasion,  lead  Vincennes  to  throw  off  its  connection 
with  England.  Clark  gladly  accepted  his  offer,  and  on  the  14th  of  July, 
in  company  with  a  fellow-townsman.  ^I.  Gibault  started  on  his  mission  of 
peace,  and  on  the  1st  of  August  returned  with  the  cheerful  intelligence 
that  the  post  on  the  "'  Oubache  "'  had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  Old  Dominion.  During  this  interval,  Clark  established  his  courts, 
placed  garrisons  at  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  successfully  re-enlisted  his 
men,  sent  word  to  have  a  fort,  which  proved  the  germ  of  Louisville, 
erected  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  and  dispatched  Mr.  Rocheblave,  who 
had  been  commander  at  Kaskaskia,  as  a  prisoner  of  war  to  Richmond. 
In  October  the  County  of  Illinois  was  established  by  the  Legislature 
of  Virginia,  John  Todd  appointed  Lieutenant  Colonel  and  Civil  Governor, 
and  in  November  General  Clark  and  his  men  received  the  thanks  of 
the  Old  Dominion  through  their  Legislature. 

In  a  speech  a  few  days  afterward,  Clark  made  known  fully  to  the 
natives  his  plans,  and  at  its  close  all  came  forward  and  swore  alle- 
giance to  the  Long  Knives.  While  he  was  doing  this  Governor  Hamilton, 
having  made  his  various  arrangements,  had  left  Detroit  and  moved  down 
the  Wabash  to  Vincennes  intending  to  operate  from  that  point  in  reducing 
the  Illinois  posts,  and  then  proceed  on  down  to  Kentucky  and  drive  the 
rebels  from  the  West.  Gen.  Clark  had,  on  the  return  of  M.  Gibault, 
dispatched  Captain  Helm,  of  Fauquier  County,  Virginia,  with  an  attend- 
ant named  Henry,  across  the  Illinois  prairies  to  command  the  fort. 
Hamilton  knew  nothing  of  the  capitulation  of  the  post,  and  was  greatly 
surprised  on  his  arrival  to  be  confronted  by  Capt.  Helm,  who,  standing  at 
the  entrance  of  the  fort  by  a  loaded  cannon  ready  to  fire  upon  his  assail- 
ants, demanded  upon  what  terms  Hamilton  demanded  possession  of  the 
fort.  Being  granted  the  rights  of  a  prisoner  of  war,  he  surrendered  to 
the  Biitish  General,  who  could  scarcely  believe  his  eyes  when  he  saw  the 
force  in  the  garrison. 

Hamilton,  not  realizing  the  character  of  the  men  with  whom  he  was 
contending,  gave  up  his  intended  campaign  for  the  Winter,  sent  his  four 
hundred  Indian  warriors  to  prevent  troops  from  coming  down  the  Ohio, 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  53 

and  to  annoy  the  Americans  in  all  ways,  and  sat  quietly  down  to  pass  the 
Winter.  Information  of  all  these  proceedings  having  reached  Clark,  he 
saw  that  immediate  and  decisive  action  was  necessary,  and  that  unless 
he  captured  Hamilton,  Hamilton  would  capture  him.  Clark  received  the 
news  on  the  29th  of  January,  1779,  and  on  February  4th,  having  suffi- 
ciently garrisoned  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  he  sent  down  the  Mississippi 
a  "  battoe,"  as  Major  Bowman  writes  it,  in  order  to  ascend  the  Ohio  and 
Wabash,  and  operate  with  the  land  forces  gathering  for  the  fray. 

On  the  next  day,  Clark,  with  his  little  force  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  set  out  for  the  post,  and  after  incredible  hard  marching 
through  much  mud,  the  ground  being  thawed  by  the  incessant  spring 
rains,  on  the  22d  reached  the  fort,  and  being  joined  by  his  "  battoe,"  at 
once  commenced  the  attack  on  the  post.  The  aim  of  the  American  back- 
woodsman was  unerring,  and  on  the  24th  the  garrison  surrendered  to  the 
intrepid  boldness  of  Clark.  The  French  were  treated  with  great  kind- 
ness, and  gladly  renewed  their  allegiance  to  Virginia.  Hamilton  was 
sent  as  a  prisoner  to  Virginia,  where  he  was  kept  in  close  confinement. 
Daring  his  command  of  the  British  frontier  posts,  he  had  offered  prizes 
to  the  Indians  for  all  the  scalps  of  Americans  they  would  bring  to  him, 
and  had  earned  in  consequence  thereof  the  title  "  Hair-buyer  General," 
by  which  he  was  ever  afterward  known. 

Detroit  was  now  without  doubt  within  easy  reach  of  the  enterprising 
Virginian,  could  he  but  raise  the  necessary  force.  Governor  Henry,  being 
apprised  of  this,  promised  him  the  needed  reinforcement,  and  CJark  con- 
cluded to  wait  until  he  could  capture  and  sufQciently  garrison  the  posts. 
Had  Clark  failed  in  this  bold  undertaking,  and  Hamilton  succeeded  in 
uniting  the  western  Indians  for  the  next  Spring's  campaign,  the  West 
would  indeed  have  been  swept  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Allegheny 
Mountains,  and  the  great  blow  struck,  which  had  been  contemplated  from 
the  commencement,  by  the  British. 

"  But  for  this  small  army  of  dripping,  but  fearless  Virginians,  the 
union  of  all  the  tribes  from  Georgia  to  Maine  against  the  colonies  might 
have  been  effected,  and  the  whole  current  of  our  history  changed." 

At  this  time  some  fears  were  entertained  by  the  Colonial  Govern- 
ments that  the  Indians  in  the  North  and  Northwest  were  inclining  to  the 
British,  and  under  the  instructions  of  Washington,  now  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Colonial  array,  and  so  bravely  fighting  for  American  inde- 
pendence, armed  forces  were  sent  against  the  Six  Nations,  and  upon  the 
Ohio  frontier,  Col.  Bowman,  acting  under  the  same  general's  orders, 
marched  against  Indians  within  the  present  limits  of  that  State.  These 
expeditions  were  in  the  main  successful,  and  the  Indians  were  compelled 
to  sue  for  peace. 


54  THE  NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

During  this  same  year  (1779)  the  famous  "  Land  Laws"  of  Virginia 
were  passed.  The  passage  of  these  laws  was  of  more  consequence  to  the 
pioneers  of  Kentucky  and  the  Northwest  than  the  gaining  of  a  few  Indian 
conflicts.  These  laws  confirmed  in  main  all  grants  made,  and  guaranteed 
to  all  actual  settlers  their  rights  and  privileges.  After  providing  for  the 
settlers,  the  laws  provided  for  selling  the  balance  of  the  public  lands  at 
forty  cents  per  acre.  To  carry  the  Land  Laws  into  effect,  the  Legislature 
sent  four  Virginians  westward  to  attend  to  the  various  claims,  over  many 
of  which  great  confusion  prevailed  concerning  their  validity.  These 
gentlemen  opened  their  court  on  October  13,  1779,  at  St.  Asaphs,  and 
continued  until  April  26,  1780,  when  they  adjourned,  having  decided 
three  thousand  claims.  They  were  succeeded  by  the  surveyor,  who 
came  in  the  person  of  Mr.  George  May,  and  assumed  his  duties  on  the 
10th  day  of  the  month  whose  name  he  bore.  With  the  opening  of  the 
next  year  (1780)  the  troubles  concerning  the  navigation  of  the  Missis- 
sippi commenced.  The  Spanish  Government  exacted  such  measures  in 
relation  to  its  trade  as  to  cause  the  overtures  made  to  the  United  States 
to  be  rejected.  The  American  Government  considered  they  had  a  right 
to  navigate  its  channel.  To  enforce  their  claims,  a  fort  was  erected  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  river.  The  settle- 
ments in  Kentucky  were  being  rapidly  filled  by  emigrants.  It  was  dur- 
ing this  year  that  the  first  seminary  of  learning  was  established  in  the 
West  in  this  young  and  enterprising  Commonwealth. 

The  settlers  here  did  not  look  upon  the  building  of  this  fort  in  a 
friendly  manner,  as  it  aroused  the  hostility  of  the  Indians.  Spain  had 
been  friendly  to  the  Colonies  during  their  struggle  for  independence, 
and  though  for  a  while  this  friendship  appeared  in  danger  from  the 
refusal  of  the  free  navigation  of  the  river,  yet  it  was  finally  settled  to  the 
satisfaction  of  both  nations. 

The  Winter  of  1779-80  was  one  of  the  most  unusually  severe  ones 
ever  experienced  in  the  West.  The  Indians  always  referred  to  it  as  the 
"Great  Cold."  Numbers  of  wild  animals  perished,  and  not  a  few 
pioneers  lost  their  lives.  The  following  Summer  a  party  of  Canadians 
and  Indians  attacked  St.  Louis,  and  attempted  to  take  possession  of  it 
in  consequence  of  the  friendly  disposition  of  Spain  to  the  revolting 
colonies.  They  met  with  such  a  determined  resistance  on  the  part  of  the 
inhabitants,  even  the  women  taking  part  in  the  battle,  that  they  were 
compelled  to  abandon  the  contest.  They  also  made  an  attack  on  the 
settlements  in  Kentucky,  but,  becoming  alarmed  in  some  unaccountable 
manner,  they  fled  the  country  in  great  haste. 

About  this  time  arose  the  question  in  the  Colonial  Congress  con- 
cerning the  western  lands  claimed  by  Virginia,  New  York,  Massachusetts 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  55 

and  Connecticut.  The  agitation  Qf)ncernJng  this  subject  finally  led  New 
York,  on  the  19th  of  February,  1780,  to  pass  a  law  giving  to  the  dele- 
gates of  that  State  in  Congress  the  power  to  cede  her  western  lands  for 
the  benefit  of  the  United  States.  This  law  was  laid  before  Congress 
during  the  next  month,  but  no  steps  were  taken  concerning  it  until  Sep- 
tember 6th,  when  a  resolution  passed  that  body  calling  upon  the  States 
claiming  western  lands  to  release  their  claims  in  favor  of  the  whole  body. 
This  basis  formed  the  union,  and  was  the  first  after  all  of  those  legislative 
measures  which  resulted  in  the  creation  of  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota.  In  December  of  the  same 
year,  the  plan  of  conquering  Detroit  again  arose.  The  conquest  might 
have  easily  been  effected  by  Clark  had  the  necessary  aid  been  furnished 
him.  Nothing  decisive  was  done,  yet  the  heads  of  the  Government  knew 
that  the' safety  of  the  Northwest  from  British  invasion  lay  in  the  capture 
and  retention  of  that  important  post,  the  only  unconquered  one  in  the 
territory. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year,  Kentucky  was  divided  into  the  Coun- 
ties of  Lincoln,  Fayette  and  Jefferson,  and  the  act  establishing  the  Town 
of  Louisville  was  passed.  This  same  year  is  also  noted  in  the  annals  of 
American  history  as  the  year  in  which  occurred  Arnold's  treason  to  the 
United  States. 

Virginia,  in  accordance  with  the  resolution  of  Congress,  on  the  2d 
day  of  January,  1781,  agreed  to .  yield  her  western  lands  to  the  United 
States  upon  certain  conditions,  which  Congress  would  not  accede  to,  and 
the  Act  of  Cession,  on  the  part  of  the  Old  Dominion,  failed,  nor  was 
anything  farther  done  until  1783.  During  all  that  time  the  Colonies 
were  busily  engaged  in  the  struggle  with  the  mother  country,  and  in 
consequence  thereof  but  little  heed  was  given  to  the  Avestern  settlements. 
Upon  the  16th  of  April,  1781,  the  first  birth  north  of  the  Ohio  River  of 
American  parentage  occurred,  being  that  of  Mary  Heckewelder,  daughter 
of  the  widely  known  Moravian  missionary,  whose  band  of  Christian 
Indians  suffered  in  after  years  a  horrible  massacre  by  the  hands  of  the 
frontier  settlers,  who  had  been  exasperated  by  the  murder  of  several  of 
their  neighbors,  and  in  their  rage  committed,  without  regard  to  humanity, 
a  deed  which  forever  afterwards  cast  a  shade  of  shame  upon  their  lives. 
For  this  and  kindred  outrages  on  the  part  of  the  whites,  the  Indians 
committed  many  deeds  of  cruelty  which  darken  the  years  of  1771  and 
1772  in  the  history  of  the  Northwest. 

During  the  year  1782  a  number  of  battles  among  the  Indians  and 
frontiersmen  occurred,  and  between  the  Moravian  Indians  and  the  Wyan- 
dots.  In  these,  horrible  acts  of  cruelty  were  practised  on  the  captives, 
manv  of  such  dark  deeds  transpiring  under  the  leadership  of  the  notorious 


56 


THE  NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


frontier  outlaw,  Simon  Girty,  whose  name,  as  well  as  those  of  his  brothers, 
was  a  terror  to  women  and  children.  These  occurred  chiefly  in  the  Ohio 
valleys.  Cotemporary  with  them  were  several  engagements  in  Kentucky, 
in  which  the  famous  Daniel  Boone  engaged,  and  who,  often  by  his  skill 
and  knowledge  of  Indian  warfare,  saved  the  outposts  from  cruel  destruc- 


INDIAKS    ATTACKING    FKONTIERSJIEN. 

tion.  By  the  close  of  the  year  victory  had  perched  upon  the  American 
banner,  and  on  the  30th  of  November,  provisional  articles  of  peace  had 
been  arranged  between  the  Commissioners  of  England  and  her  uncon- 
querable colonies.  Cornwallis  had  been  defeated  on  the  19th  of  October 
preceding,  and  the  liberty  of  America  was  assured.  On  the  19th  of 
April   following,  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Lexington,  peace  was 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  57 

proclaimed  to  the  army  of  the  United  States,  and  on  the  2d  of  the  next 
September,  the  definite  treaty  which  ended  our  revolutionary  struggle 
was  concluded.  By  the  terms  of  that  treaty,  the  boundaries  of  the  West 
were  as  follows :  On  the  north  the  line  was  to  extend  along  the  center  of 
the  Great  Lakes ;  from  the  western  point  of  Lake  Superior  to  Long  Lake  ; 
thence  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods ;  thence  to  the  head  of  the  Mississippi 
River;  down  its  center  to  the  31st  parallel  of  latitude,  then  on  that  line 
east  to  the  head  of  the  Appalachicola  River;  down  its  center  to  its  junc- 
tion with  the  Flint ;  thence  straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  River,  and 
thence  down  along  its  center  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

Following  the  cessation  of  hostilities  with  England,  several  posts 
were  still  occupied  by  the  British  in  the  North  and  West.  Among  these 
was  Detroit,  still  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Numerous  engagements 
with  the  Lidians  throughout  Ohio  and  Lidiana  occurred,  upon  whose 
lands  adventurous  whites  would  settle  ere  the  title  had  been  acquired  by 
the  proper  treaty. 

To  remedy  this  latter  evil.  Congress  appointed  commissioners  to 
treat  with  the  natives  and  purchase  their  lands,  and  prohibited  the  set- 
tlement of  the  territory  until  this  could  be  done.  Before  the  close  of  the 
year  another  attempt  was  made  to  capture  Detroit,  which  was,  however, 
not  pushed,  and  Virginia,  no  longer  feeling  the  interest  in  the  Northwest 
she  had  formerly  done,  withdrew  her  troops,  having  on  the  20th  of 
December  preceding  authorized  the  whole  of  her  possessions  to  be  deeded 
to  the  United  States.  This  was  done  on  the  1st  of  March  following,  and 
the  Northwest  Territory  passed  from  the  control  of  the  Old  Dominion. 
To  Gen.  Clark  and  his  soldiers,  however,  she  gave  a  tract  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  acres  of  land,  to  be  situated  any  where  north  of  the 
Ohio  wherever  they  chose  to  locate  them.  They  selected  the  region 
opposite  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  where  is  now  the  dilapidated  village  of 
Clarksville,  about  midway  between  the  Cities  of  New  Albany  and  Jeffer- 
sonville,  Indiana. 

While  the  frontier  remained  thus,  and  Gen.  Haldimand  at  Detroit 
refused  to  evacuate  alleging  that  he  had  no  orders  from  his  King  to  do 
so,  settlers  were  rapidly  gathering  about  the  inland  forts.  In  the  Spring 
of  1784,  Pittsburgh  was  regularly  laid  out,  and  from  the  journal  of  Arthur 
Lee,  who  passed  through  the  town  soon  after  on  his  way  to  the  Indian 
council  at  Fort  Mcintosh,  we  suppose  it  was  not  very  prepossessing  in 
appearance.     He  says : 

"  Pittsburgh  is  inhabited  almost  entirely  by  Scots  and  Irish,  who 
live  in  paltry  log  houses,  and  are  as  dirty  as  if  in  the  north  of  Ireland  or 
even  Scotland.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  trade  carried  on,  the  goods  being 
bought  at  the  vast  expense  of  forty-five  shillings  per  pound  from  Phila- 


58  THE   NOKTHWEST  TERRITORY. 

delphia  and  Baltimore.  They  take  in  the  shops  flour,  wheat,  skins  and 
money.  There  are  in  the  town  four  attorneys,  two  doctors,  and  not  a 
priest  of  any  persuasion,  nor  church  nor  chapel." 

Kentucky  at  this  time  contained  thirty  thousand  inhabitants,  and 
was  beginning  to  discuss  measures  for  a  separation  from  Virginia.  A 
land  office  was  opened  at  Louisville,  and  measures  were  adopted  to  take 
defensive  precaution  against  the  Indians  who  were  yet,  in  some  instances, 
incited  to  deeds  of  violence  by  the  British.  Before  the  close  of  this  year, 
1784,  the  military  claimants  of  land  began  to  occupy  them,  although  no 
entries  were  recorded  until  1787. 

The  Indian  title  to  the  Northwest  was  not  yet  extinguished.  They 
held  large  tracts  of  lands,  and  in  order  to  prevent  bloodshed  Congress 
adopted  means  for  treaties  with  the  original  owners  and  provided  for  the 
survey's  of  the  lands  gained  thereby,  as  well  as  for  those  north  of  the 
Ohio,  now  in  its  possession.  On  January  31,  1786,  a  treaty  was  made 
with  the  Wabash  Indians.  The  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix  had  been  made 
in  1784.  That  at  Fort  Mcintosh  in  1785,  and  through  these  much  land 
was  gained.  The  Wabash  Indians,  however,  afterward  refused  to  comply 
with  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  made  with  them,  and  in  order  to  compel 
their  adherence  to  its  provisions,  force  was  used.  During  the  year  1786, 
the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  came  up  in  Congress,  and  caused 
various  discussions,  which  resulted  in  no  definite  action,  only  serving  to 
excite  speculation  in  regard  to  the  western  lands.  CongTess  had  promised 
bounties  of  land  to  the  soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  but  owing  to  the 
unsettled  condition  of  affairs  along  the  Mississippi  respecting  its  naviga- 
tion, and  the  trade  of  the  Northwest,  that  body  had,  in  1783,  declared 
its  inability  to  fulfill  these  promises  until  a  treaty  could  be  concluded 
between  the  two  Governments.  Before  the  close  of  the  year  1786,  how- 
ever, it  was  able,  through  the  treaties  with  the  Indians,  to  allow  some 
grants  and  the  settlement  thereon,  and  on  the  14th  of  September  Con- 
necticut ceded  to  the  General  Government  the  tract  of  land  known  as 
the  ''  Connecticut  Reserve,"  and  before  the  close  of  the  following  year  a 
large  tract  of  land  north  of  the  Ohio  was  sold  to  a  company,  who  at  once 
took  measures  to  settle  it.  By  the  provisions  of  this  grant,  the  company 
were  to  pay  the  United  States  one  dollar  per  acre,  subject  to  a  deduction 
of  one-third  for  bad  lands  and  other  contingencies.  They  received 
750,000  acres,  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Ohio,  on  the  east  b}'  the 
seventh  range  of  townships,  on  the  west  by  the  sixteenth  range,  and  on 
the  north  by  a  line  so  drawn  as  to  make  the  grant  complete  without 
the  reservations.  In  addition  to  this,  Congress  afterward  granted  100,000 
acres  to  actual  settlers,  and  214,285  acres  as  army  bounties  under  the 
resolutions  of  1789  and  1790. 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


69 


While  Dr.  Cutler,  one  of  the  agents  of  the  company,  was  pressing 
its  claims  before  Congress,  that  bod}'  was  bringing  into  form  an  ordinance 
for  the  political  and  social  organization  of  this  Territory.  When  the 
cession  was  made  by  Virginia,  in  1784,  a  plan  was  offered,  but  rejected. 
A  motion  had  been  made  to  strike  from  the  proposed  plan  the  prohibition 
of  slavery,  which  prevailed.  The  plan  was  then  discussed  and  altered, 
and  finally  passed  unanimously,  with  the  exception  of  South  Carolina. 
Bv  this  proposition,  the  Territory  was  to  have  been  divided  into  states 


A    PRAIKIE    STOKM. 


by  parallels  and  meridian  lines.  This,  it  was  thought,  would  make  ten 
states,  which  were  to  have  been  named  as  follows  —  beginning  at  the 
northwest  corner  and  going  southwardly :  Sylvania,  Michigania,  Cher- 
sonesus,  Assenisipia,  Metropotamia,  Illenoia,  Saratoga,  Washington,  Poly- 
potamia  and  Pelisipia. 

There  was  a  more  serious  objection  to  this  plan  than  its  category  of 
names,—  the  boundaries.  The  root  of  the  difficulty  was  in  the  resolu- 
tion of  Congress  passed  in  October,  1780,  which  fixed  the  boundaries 
of  the  ceded  lands  to  be  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 


60  THE   NORTHWEST   TEREITOEY. 

square.  These  resolutions  being  presented  to  the  Legislatures  of  Vir- 
giaia  and  Massachusetts,  they  desired  a  change,  and  in  July,  1786,  the 
subject  was  taken  up  in  Congress,  and  changed  to  favor  a  division  into 
not  more  than  five  states,  and  not  less  than  three.  This  was  approved  by 
the  State  Legislature  of  Virginia.  The  subject  of  the  Government  was 
again  taken  up  by  Congress  in  1786,  and  discussed  throughout  that  year 
and  until  July,  1787,  when  the  famous  "Compact  of  1787"'  was  passed, 
and  the  foundation  of  the  government  of  the  Northwest  laid.  This  com- 
pact is  fully  discussed  and  explained  in  the  history  of  Illinois  in  this  book, 
and  to  it  the  reader  is  referred. 

The  passage  of  this  act  and  the  grant  to  the  New  England  Company 
was  soon  followed  by  an  application  to  the  Government  by  John  Cleves 
Symmes,  of  New  Jersey,  for  a  grant  of  the  land  between  the  Miamis. 
This  gentleman  had  visited  these  lands  soon  after  the  treaty  of  1786,  and, 
being  greatly  pleased  with  them,  offered  similar  terms  to  those  given  to  the 
New  England  Company.  The  petition  was  referred  to  the  Treasury 
Board  with  power  to  act,  and  a  contract  was  concluded  the  following 
year.  During  the  Autumn  the  directors  of  tlie  New  England  Company 
were  preparing  to  occup}'  their  grant  the  following  Spring,  and  upon  the 
2od  of  November  made  arrangements  for  a  party  of  forty-seven  men, 
under  the  superinteudency  of  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam,  to  set  forward.  Six 
boat-builders  were  to  leave  at  once,  and  on  the  first  of  January  the  sur- 
veyors and  their  assistants,  twenty-six  in  number,  were  to  meet  at  Hart- 
ford and  proceed  on  their  journey  westward  :  the  remainder  to  follow  as 
soon  as  possible.  Congress,  in  the  meantime,  upon  the  od  of  October, 
had  ordered  seven  hundred  troops  for  defense  of  the  western  settlers,  and 
to  prevent  unauthorized  intrusions  ;  and  two  days  later  appointed  Arthur 
St.  Clair  Governor  of  the  Territor}*  of  the  Northwest. 

AMERICAN  SETTLEMENTS. 

The  civil  organization  of  the  Northwest  Territory  was  now  com^. 
plete,  and  notwithstanding  the  uncertainty  of  Indian  affairs,  settlers  from 
the  East  began  to  come  into  the  country  rapidly.  The  New  England 
Company  sent  their  men  during  the  "Winter  of  1787-8  pressing  on  over 
the  Alleghenies  by  the  old  Indian  path  which  had  been  opened  into 
Braddock's  road,  and  which  has  since  been  made  a  national  turnpike 
from  Cumberland  westward.  Throitgh  the  weary  winter  days  they  toiled 
on,  and  by  April  were  all  gathered  on  the  Yohiogany.  where  boats  had 
been  built,  and  at  once  started  for  the  Muskingum.  Here  they  arrived 
on  the  7th  of  that  month,  and  unless  the  Moravian  missionaries  be  regarded 
as  the  pioneers  of  Ohio,  this  little  band  can  justly  claim  that  honor. 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


61 


Gen.  St.  Clair,  the  appointed  Governor  of  the  Northwest,  not  having 
yet  arrived,  a  set  of  haws  were  passed,  written  out,  and  published  by 
being  nailed  to  a  tree  in  the  embryo  town,  and  Jonathan  Meigs  appointed 
to  administer  them. 

Washington  in  writing  of  this,  the  first  American  settlement  in  the 
Northwest,  said :  "  No  colony  in  America  was  ever  settled  under 
such  favorable  auspices  as  that  which  has  just  commenced  at  Muskingum. 
Information,  property  and  strength  will  be  its  characteristics.  I  know 
many  of  its  settlers  personally,  and  there  never  were  men  better  calcu- 
lated to  promote  the  welfare  of  such  a  community.'" 


A    PIONEER    DAVELLING. 


On  the  2d  of  July  a  meeting  of  the  directors  and  agents  was  held 
on  the  banks  of  the  Muskingum,  "  for  the  purpose  of  naming  the  new- 
born city  and  its  squares."  As  yet  the  settlement  was  known  as  the 
"Muskingum,"  but  that  was  now  changed  to  the  name  Marietta,  in  honor 
of  Marie  Antoinette.  The  square  upon  which  the  block -houses  stood 
was  called  ^'' Campus  3Iartius  ;""  square  number  19,  ^'- Capitolium  ;""  square 
number  61,  '■^ Cecilia;^'  and  the  great  road  through  the  covert  way,  "  Sacra 
Via^  Two  days  after,  an  oration  was  delivered  by  James  M.  Yarnum, 
who  with  S.  H.  Parsons  and  John  Armstrong  had  been  appointed  to  the 
judicial  bench  of  the  territory  on  the  16th  of  October,  1787.  On  July  9, 
Gov.  St.  Clair  arrived,  and  the  colony  began  to  assume  form.  The  act 
of  1787  provided  two  district  grades  of  government  for  the  Northwest, 


62  THE    XOKTHWEST    TEKKITOKY. 

under  the  first  of  -^111011  rhe  whole  power  was  invested  in  the  hands  of  a 
governor  and  three  district  judges.  This  was  immediately  formed  upon 
the  Governor's  arrival,  and  the  fii"st  laws  of  the  colony  passed  on  the  25th 
of  July.  These  provided  for  the  oi-ganization  of  the  militia,  and  on  the 
next  day  appeared  the  Governor's  proclamation,  erecting  all  that  country 
that  had  been  ceded  by  the  Indians  east  of  the  Scioto  River  into  the 
County  of  Washington.  From  that  time  forward,  notwithstanding  the 
doubts  yet  existing  as  to  the  Indians,  all  Marietta  prospered,  and  on  the 
2d  of  September  the  first  court  of  the  territory  was  held  with  imposing 
ceremonies. 

The  emigration  westward  at  this  time  was  very  great.  The  com- 
mander at  Fort  Harmer,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  reported  four 
thousand  five  hundred  persons  as  having  passed  that  post  between  Feb- 
ruary and  June,  1TS8  — many  of  whom  would  have  purchased  of  the 
"Associates,"  as  the  New  England  Company  was  called,  had  they  been 
ready  to  receive  them. 

On  the  26th  of  November,  ITST.  Symmes  issued  a  pamphlet  stating 
the  terms  of  his  contract  and  the  plan  of  sale  he  intended  to  adopt.  In 
January.  ITSS.  Matthias  Denman,  of  New  Jei-sey.  took  an  active  interest 
in  Symmes'  purchase,  and  located  among  other  tracts  the  sections  upon 
which  Cincinnati  has  been  built.  Retaining  one-third  of  this  locality,  he 
sold  the  other  two-thirds  to  Robert  Pattei^on  and  John  Filson,  and  the 
three,  about  August,  commenced  to  lay  out  a  town  on  the  spot,  which 
was  designated  as  being  opposite  Licking  River,  to  the  mouih  of  which 
they  proposed  to  have  a  road  cut  from  Lexington.  The  naming  of  the 
town  is  thus  narrated  in  the  "Western  Annals  '" : — ••  Mr.  Filson,  who  had 
been  a  schoolmaster,  was  appointed  to  name  the  town.  and.  in  respect  to 
its  situation,  and  as  if  with  a  prophetic  perception  of  the  mixed  race  that 
were  to  inhabit  it  in  after  days,  he  named  it  Losantiville,  Avhich.  being 
interpreted,  means :  rille^  the  town  :  anti,  against  or  opposite  to  ;  tv*.  the 
mouth  :  L.  of  Licking." 

Meanwhile,  in  July,  Symmes  got  thirty  persons  and  eight  four-hoi"se 
teams  under  way  for  the  West.  These  reached  Limestone  (now  Mays- 
ville)  in  September,  where  were  several  persons  from  Redstone.  Here 
Mr.  Symmes  tried  to  found  a  settlement,  but  the  great  freshet  of  1789 
caused  the  "  Point,"  as  it  was  and  is  yet  called,  to  be  fifteen  feet  under 
water,  and  the  settlement  to  be  abandoned.  The  little  band  of  settlers 
removed  to  the  mouth  of  the  Miami.  Before  Symmes  and  his  colony  left 
the  "  Point."  two  settlements  had  been  made  on  his  purchase.  The  first 
was  by  Mr.  Stiltes.  the  original  projector  of  the  whole  plan,  who,  with  a 
colony  of  Redstone  people,  had  located  at  the  mouth  of  the  Miami, 
whither  Svmmes  went  with  his  Mavsville  colony.     Here  a  clearing  had 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERKITOEY. 


63 


been  made  by  the  Indians  owing  to  the  great  fertility  of  the  soil.  Mr. 
Stiltes  with  his  colony  came  to  this  place  on  the  18th  of  November,  1788, 
with  twenty-six  persons,  and,  bnilding  a  block-house,  prepared  to  remain 
through  the  Winter.  They  named  the  settlement  Columbia.  Here  they 
were  kindly  treated  by  the  Indians,  but  suffered  greatly  from  the  flood 
of  1789. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1789,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
went  into  operation,  and  on  April  30,  George  Washington  was  inaug- 
urated President  of  the  American  people,  and  during  the  next  Summer, 
an  Indian  war  was  commenced  by  the  tribes  north  of  the  Ohio.  The 
President  at  first  used  pacific  means ;  but  these  failing,  he  sent  General 
Harmer  against  the  hostile  tribes.     He  destroyed  several  villages,  but 


BBEAKI^TG   PEAIEIE. 


-was  defeated  in  two  battles,  near  the  present  City  of  Fort  Wayne, 
Indiana.  From  this  time  till  the  close  of  1795,  the  principal  events  were 
the  wars  with  the  various  Indian  tribes.  In  1796,  General  St.  Clair 
was  appointed  in  command,  and  marched  against  the  Indians ;  but  while 
he  was  encamped  on  a  stream,  the  St.  jSIary,  a  branch  of  the  Maumee, 
he  was  attacked  and  defeated  with  the  loss  of  six  hundred  men. 

General  Wayne  was  now  sent  against  the  savages.  In  August,  1794, 
he  met  them  near  the  rapids  of  the  Maumee,  and  gained  a  complete 
victory.  This  success,  followed  by  vigorous  measures,  compelled  the 
Indians  to  sue  for  peace,  and  on  the  30th  of  July,  the  following  year,  the 
treaty  of  Greenville  was  signed  by  the  principal  chiefs,  by  which  a  large 
tract  of  country  was  ceded  to  the  United  States. 

Before  proceeding  in  our  narrative,  we  will  pause  to  notice  Fort 
Washington,  erected  in  the  early  part  of  this  war  on  the  site  of  Cincinnati. 
Nearly   all   of   the    great    cities  of   the  Northwest,  and  indeed  of    the 


64  THE   NORTHWEST   TEREITORY. 

whole  country,  have  had  their  nuclei  in  those  rude  pioneer  structures, 
known  as  forts  or  stockades.  Thus  Forts  Dearborn,  Washington,  Pon- 
chartrain,  mark  the  original  sites  of  the  now  proud  Cities  of  Chicago, 
Cincinnati  and  Detroit.  So  of  most  of  the  flourishing  cities  east  and  west 
of  the  Mississippi.  Fort  Washington,  erected  by  Doughty  in  1790,  was  a 
rude  but  highly  interesting  structure.  It  was  composed  of  a  number  of 
stronglj^-built  hewed  log  cabins.  Those  designed  for  soldiers'  barracks 
were  a  story  and  a  half  high,  while  those  composing  the  officers  quarters 
were  more  imposing  and  more  conveniently  arranged  and  furnished. 
The  whole  were  so  placed  as  to  form  a  hollow  square,  enclosing  about  an 
acre  of  ground,  with  a  block  house  at  each  of  the  four  angles. 

The  logs  for  the  construction  of  this  fort  were  cut  from  the  ground 
upon  which  it  was  erected.  It  stood  between  Third  and  Fourth  Streets 
of  the  present  city  (Cincinnati)  extending  east  of  Eastern  Row,  now 
Broadway,  which  was  then  a  narrow  alley,  and  the  eastern  boundary  of 
of  the  town  as  it  was  originally  laid  out.  On  the  bank  of  the  river, 
immediately  in  front  of  the  fort,  was  an  appendage  of  the  fort,  called  the 
Artificer's  Yard.  It  contained  about  two  acres  of  ground,  enclosed  by 
small  contiguous  buildings,  occupied  by  workshops  and  quarters  of 
laborers.  Within  this  enclosure  there  was  a  large  two-story  frame  house, 
familiarly  called  the  "  Yellow  House,"  built  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  Quartermaster  General.  For  many  years  this  was  the  best  finished 
and  most  commodious  edifice  in  the  Queen  City.  Fort  Washington  was 
for  some  time  the  headquarters  of  both  the  civil  and  military  governments 
of  the  Northwestern  Territor3^ 

Following  the  consummation  of  the  treaty  various  gigantic  land  spec- 
ulations were  entered  into  by  different  persons,  who  hoped  to  obtain 
from  the  Indians  in  Michigan  and  northern  Indiana,  large  tracts  of  lands. 
These  Avere  generally  discovered  in  time  to  prevent  the  outrageous 
schemes  from  being  carried  out,  and  from  involving  the  settlers  in  war. 
On  October  27,  1795,  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Spain 
was  signed,  whereby  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  was  secured. 

No  sooner  had  the  treaty  of  1795  been  ratified  than  settlements  began 
to  pour  rapidly  into  the  West.  The  great  event  of  the  year  1796  was  the 
occupation  of  that  part  of  the  Northwest  including  Michigan,  which  was 
this  year,  under  the  provisions  of  the  treaty,  evacuated  by  the  British 
forces.  The  United  States,  owing  to  certain  conditions,  did  not  feel 
justified  in  addressing  the  authorities  in  Canada  in  relation  to  Detroit 
and  other  frontier  posts.  When  at  last  the  British  authorities  were 
called  to  give  them  up,  they  at  once  complied,  and  General  Wayne,  who 
had  done  so  much  to  preserve  the  frontier  settlements,  and  who,  before 
the    year's    close,  sickened    and  died  near  Erie,  transferred  his  head- 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  66 

quarters  to  the  neighborhood  of  the'lakes,  where  a  county  named  after 
him  was  formed,  which  included  the  northwest  of  Ohio,  all  of  Michigan, 
and  the  northeast  of  Indiana.  During  this  same  year  settlements  were 
formed  at  the  present  City  of  Chillicothe,  along  the  Miami  from  Middle- 
town  to  Piqua,  while  in  the  more  distant  West,  settlers  and  speculators 
began  to  appear  in  great  numbers.  In  September,  the  City  of  Cleveland 
was  laid  out,  and  during  the  Summer  and  Autumn,  Samuel  Jackson  and 
Jonathan  Sharpless  erected  the  first  manufactory  of  paper — the  "  Red- 
stone Paper  Mill" — in  the  West.  St.  Louis  contained  some  seventy 
houses,  and  Detroit  over  three  hundred,  and  along  the  river,  contiguous 
to  it,  were  more  than  three  thousand  inhabitants,  mostly  French  Canadians, 
Indians  and  half-breeds,  scarcely  any  Americans  venturing  yet  into  that 
part  of  the  Northwest. 

The  election  of  representatives  for  the  territory  had  taken  place, 
and  on  the  4th  of  February,  1799,  they  convened  at  Losantiville  —  now 
known  as  Cincinnati,  having  been  named  so  by  Gov.  St.  Clair,  and 
considered  the  capital  of  the  Territory — to  nominate  persons  from  whom 
the  members  of  the  Legislature  were  to  be  chosen  in  accordance  with 
a  previous  ordinance.  This  nomination  being  made,  the  Assembly 
adjourned  until  the  16th  of  the  following  September.  From  those  named 
the  President  selected  as  members  of  the  council,  Henry  Vandenburg, 
of  Vincennes,  Robert  Oliver,  of  Marietta,  James  Findlay  and  Jacob 
Burnett,  of  Cincinnati,  and  David  Vance,  of  Vanceville.  On  the  16th 
of  September  the  Territorial'  Legislature  met,  and  on  the  24th  the  two 
houses  were  duly  organized,  Henry  Vandenburg  being  elected  President 
of  the  Council. 

The  message  of  Gov.  St.  Clair  was  addressed  to  the  Legislature 
September  20th,  and  on  October  13th  that  body  elected  as  a  delegate  to 
Congress  Gen.  Wm.  Henry  Harrison,  who  received  eleven  of  the  votes 
cast,  being  a  majority  of  one  over  his  opponent,  Arthur  St.  Clair,  son  of 
Gen.  St.  Clair. 

The  whole  number  of  acts  passed  at  this  session,  and  approved  by 
the  Governor,  were  thirty-seven — eleven  others  were  passed,  but  received 
his  veto.  The  most  important  of  those  passed  related  to  the  militia,  to 
the  administration,  and  to  taxation.  On  the  19th  of  December  this  pro- 
tracted session  of  the  first  Legislature  in  the  West  was  closed,  and  on  the 
30th  of  December  the  President  nominated  Charles  Willing  Bryd  to  the 
office  of  Secretary  of  the  Territory  vice  Wm.  Henry  Harrison,  elected  to 
Congress.     The  Senate  confirmed  his  nomination  the  next  day. 


6G  THE  NOKTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


DIVISION   OF   THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

The  increased  emigration  to  the  Northwest,  the  extent  of  the  domain, 
and  the  inconvenient  modes  of  travel,  made  it  very  difficult  to  conduct 
the  ordinary  operations  of  government,  and  rendered  the  efficient  action 
of  courts  almost  impossible.  To  remedy  this,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to 
divide  the  territory  for  civil  purposes.  Congress,  in  1800,  appointed  a 
committee  to  examine  the  question  and  report  some  means  for  its  solution. 
This  committee,  on  the  od  of  March,  reported  that : 

"  In  the  three  western  countries  there  has  been  but  one  court  having 
cognizance  of  crimes,  in  five  years,  and  the  immunity  which  offenders 
experience  attracts,  as  to  an  asylum,  the  most  vile  and  abandoned  crim- 
inals, and  at  the  same  time  deters  useful  citizens  from  making  settlements 
in  such  society.  The  extreme  necessity  of  judiciary  attention  and  assist- 
ance is  "experienced  in  civil  as  well  as  in  criminal  cases.  *  *  *  *  Xo 
minister  a  remedy  to  these  and  other  evils,  it  occurs  to  this  committee 
that  it  is  expedient  that  a  division  of  said  territory  into  two  distinct  and 
separate  governments  should  be  made ;  and  that  such  division  be  made 
by  a  line  beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  River,  running 
directly  north  until  it  intersects  the  boundary  between  the  United  States 
and  Canada." 

The  report  was  accepted  by  Congress,  and,  in  accordance  with  its 
suggestions,  that  body  passed  an  Act  extinguishing  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, which  Act  was  approved  May  7.     Among  its  provisions  were  these  : 

"  That  from  and  after  July  4  next,  all  that  part  of  the  Territory  of 
the  United  States  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River,  which  lies  to  the  westward 
of  a  line  beginning  at  a  point  on  the  Ohio,  opposite  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Kentucky  River,  and  running  thence  to  Fort  Recovery,  and  thence  north 
until  it  shall  intersect  the  territorial  line  between  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  shall,  for  the  purpose  of  temporary  government,  constitute  a 
separate  territory,  and  be  called  the  Indiana  Territory." 

After  providing  for  the  exercise  of  the  civil  and  criminal  powers  of 
the  territories,  and  other  provisions,  the  Act  further  provides: 

"  That  until  it  shall  otherwise  be  ordered  by  the  Legislatures  of  the 
said  Territories,  respectively,  Chillicothe  on  the  Scioto  River  shall  be  the 
seat  of  government  of  the  Territory  of  the  United  States  northwest  of  the 
Ohio  River ;  and  that  St.  Vincennes  on  the  Wabash  River  shall  be  the 
seat  of  government  for  the  Indiana  Territory." 

Gen.  Wm.  Henry  Harrison  was  appointed  Governor  of  the  Indiana 
Territory,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  about  a  year  later.  Connecticut 
also  about  this  time  released  her  claims  to  the  reserve,  and  in  March  a  law 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  67 

was  passed  accepting  this  cession.  Settlements  had  been  made  upon 
thirty-five  of  the  townships  in  the  reserve,  mills  had  been  built,  and  seven 
hundred  miles  of  road  cut  in  various  directions.  On  the  3d  of  November 
the  General  Assembly  met  at  Chillicothe.  Near  the  close  of  the  year, 
the  first  missionary  of  the  Connecticut  Reserve  came,  who  found  no 
township  containing  more  than  eleven  families.  It  was  upon  the  first  of 
October  that  the  secret  treaty  had  been  made  between  Napoleon  and  the 
King  of  Spain,  whereby  the  latter  agreed  to  cede  to  France  the  province 
of  Louisiana. 

In  January,  1802,  the  Assembly  of  the  Northwestern  Territory  char- 
tered the  college  at  Athens.  From  the  earliest  dawn  of  the  western 
colonies,  education  was  promptly  provided  for,  and  as  early  as  1787, 
newspapers  were  issued  from  Pittsburgh  and  Kentucky,  and  largely  read 
throughout  the  frontier  settlements.  Before  the  close  of  this  year,  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  granted  to  the  citizens  of  the  Northwestern 
territory  the  formation  of  a  State  government.  One  of  the  provisions  of 
the  "compact  of  1787"  provided  that  whenever  the  number  of  inhabit- 
ants within  prescribed  limits  exceeded  45,000,  they  should  be  entitled  to 
a  separate  government.  The  prescribed  limits  of  Ohio  contained,  from  a 
census  taken  to  ascertain  the  legality  of  the  act,  more  than  that  number, 
and  on  the  30th  of  April,  1802,  Congress  passed  the  act  defining  its  limits, 
and  on  the  29th  of  November  the  Constitution  of  the  new  State  of  Ohio, 
so  named  from  the  beautiful  river  forming  its  southern  boundary,  came 
into  existence.  The  exact  limits  of  Lake  Michigan  were  not  then  known, 
but  the  territory  now  included  within  the  State  of  Michigan  was  wholly 
within  the  territory  of  Indiana. 

Gen.  Harrison,  while  residing  at  Vincennes,  made  several  treaties 
with  the  Indians,  thereby  gaining  large  tracts  of  lands.  The  next  year  is 
memorable  in  the  history  of  the  West  for  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  from 
France  by  the  United  States  for  $15,000,000.  Thus  by  a  peaceful  mode, 
the  domain  of  the  United  States  was  extended  over  a  large  tract  of 
country  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  was  for  a  time  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Northwest  government,  and,  as  has  been  mentioned  in  the  early 
part  of  this  narrative,  was  called  the  "New  Northwest."  The  limits 
of  this  history  will  not  allow  a  description  of  its  territory.  The  same  year 
large  grants  of  land  were  obtained  from  the  Indians,  and  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  new  State  of  Ohio  signed  a  bill  respecting  the 
College  Township  in  the  district  of  Cincinnati. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year,  Gen.  Harrison  obtained  additional 
grants  of  lands  from  the  various  Indian  nations  in  Indiana  and  the  present 
limits  of  Illinois,  and  on  the  18th  of  August,  1804,  completed  a  treaty  at 
St.  Louis,  whereby  over  51,000,000  acres  of  lands  were  obtained  from  the 


68  THE   NORTHWEST   TEERITOBY. 

aborigines.  Measures  were  also  taken  to  learn  the  condition  of  affairs  in 
and  about  Detroit. 

C.  Jouett,  the  Indian  agent  in  Michigan,  still  a  part  of  Indiana  Terri- 
tory, reported  as  follows  upon  the  condition  of  matters  at  that  post : 

"  The  Town  of  Detroit. — The  charter,  which  is  for  fifteen  miles 
square,  was  granted  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  and  is  now, 
from  the  best  information  I  have  been  able  to  get,  at  Quebec.  Of  those 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres,  only  four  are  occupied  by  the  town 
and  Fort  Lenault.  The  remainder  is  a  common,  except  twenty-four 
acres,  which  were  added  twenty  years  ago  to  a  farm  belonging  to  Wm. 
Macomb.  *  *  *  A  stockade  incloses  the  town,  fort  and  citadel.  The 
pickets,  as  well  as  the  public  houses,  are  in  a  state  of  gradual  decay.  The 
streets  are  narrow,  straight  and  regular,  and  intersect  each  other  at  right 
angles.     The  houses  are,  for  the  most  part,  low  and  inelegant.*' 

During  this  year.  Congress  granted  a  township  of  laud  for  the  sup- 
port of  a  college,  and  began  to  offer  inducements  for  settlers  in  these 
wilds,  and  the  country  now  comprising  the  State  of  Michigan  began  to 
fill  rapidly  with  settlers  along  its  southern  borders.  This  same  year,  also, 
a  law  was  passed  organizing  the  Southwest  Territory,  dividing  it  into  two 
portions,  the  Territory-  of  New  Orleans,  which  eit}'-  was  made  the  seat  of 
Qfovernmeut,  and  the  District  of  Louisiana,  which  was  annexed  to  the 
domain  of  Gen.  Harrison. 

On  the  11th  of  Januar3%  1805,  the  Territory  of  Michigan  was  formed, 
Wm.  Hull  was  appointed  governor,  with  headquarters  at  Detroit,  the 
change  to  take  effect  on  June  30.  On  the  11th  of  that  month,  a  fire 
occurred  at  Detroit,  which  destroyed  almost  every  building  in  the  place. 
When  the  officers  of  the  new  territorv  reached  the  post,  they  found  it  in 
ruins,  and  the  inhabitants  scattered  throughout  the  country.  Rebuild- 
ing, ho\yever,  soon  commenced,  and  ere  long  the  town  contained  more 
houses  than  before  the  fire,  and  many  of  them  much  better  built. 

While  this  was  being  done,  Indiana  had  passed  to  the  second  grade 
of  government,  and  through  her  General  Assembly  had  obtained  large 
tracts  of  land  from  the  Indian  tribes.  To  all  this  the  celebrated  Indian, 
Tecumthe  or  Tecumseh,  vigorously  protested,  and  it  was  the  main  cause 
of  his  attempts  to  unite  the  various  Indian  tribes  in  a  conflict  with  the 
settlers.  To  obtain  a  full  account  of  these  attempts,  the  workings  of  the 
British,  and  the  signal  failure,  culminating  in  the  death  of  Tecumseh  at 
the  battle  of  tlie  Thames,  and  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812  in  the  Northwest, 
we  will  step  aside  in  our  story,  and  relate  the  principal  events  of  his  life, 
and  his  connection  with  this  conflict. 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY, 


6tf 


TECUMSEH,  THE  SHAWANOE  CHIEFTAIN. 


70  THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


TECUMSEH,  AND  THE  WAR  OF  1812. 

This  famous  Indian  chief  was  born  about  the  year  1768,  not  far  from 
the  site  of  the  present  City  of  Piqua,  Ohio.  His  father,  Puckeshinwa, 
was  a  member  of  the  Kisopok  tribe  of  the  Swanoese  nation,  and  his 
mother,  Methontaske,  was  a  member  of  the  Turtle  tribe  of  the  same 
people.  They  removed  from  Florida  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century 
to  the  birthplace  of  Tecumseh.  In  1774,  his  father,  who  had  risen  to  be 
chief,  was  slain  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  and  not  long  after  Tecum- 
seh, by  his  bravery,  became  the  leader  of  his  tribe.  In  1795  he  was 
declared  chief,  and  then  lived  at  Deer  Creek,  near  the  site  of  tlie 
present  City  of  Urbana.  He  remained  here  about  one  year,  when  he 
returned  to  Piqua,  and  in  1798,  he  went  to  White  River,  Indiana.  In 
1805,  he  and  his  brother,  Laulewasikan  (Open  Door),  who  had  announced 
himself  as  a  prophet,  went  to  a  tract  of  land  on  the  Wabash  River,  given 
them  by  the  Pottawatomies  and  Kickapoos.  From  this  date  the  chiei 
comes  into  prominence.  He  was  now  about  thirty-seven  years  of  age, 
was  five  feet  and  ten  inches  in  height,  was  stoutly  built,  and  possessed  of 
enormous  powers  of  endurance.  His  countenance  was  naturally  pleas- 
ing, and  he  was,  in  general,  devoid  of  those  savage  attributes  possessed 
by  most  Indians.  It  is  stated  he  could  read  and  write,  and  had  a  confi- 
dential secretary  and  adviser,  named  Billy  Caldwell,  a  half-breed,  who 
afterward  became  chief  of  the  Pottawatomies.  He  occupied  the  first 
house  built  on  the  site  of  Chicago.  At  this  time,  Tecumseh  entered 
upon  the  great  work  of  his  life.  He  had  long  objected  to  the  grants  of 
land  made  by  the  Indians  to  the  whites,  and  determined  to  unite  all  the 
Indian  tribes  into  a  league,  in  order  that  no  treaties  or  grants  of  land 
could  be  made  save  by  the  consent  of  this  confederation. 

He  traveled  constantly,  going  from  north  to  south  ;  from  the  south 
to  the  north,  everywhere  urging  the  Indians  to  this  step.  He  was  a 
matchless  orator,  and  his  burning  words  had  their  effect. 

Gen.  Harrison,  then  Governor  of  Indiana,  by  watching  the  move- 
ments of  the  Indians,  became  convinced  that  a  grand  conspiracy  was 
forming,  and  made  preparations  to  defend  the  settlements.  Tecuraseh's 
plan  was  similar  to  Pontiac's,  elsewhere  described,  and  to  the  cunning 
artifice  of  that  chieftain  was  added  his  own  sagacity. 

During  the  year  1809,  Tecumseh  and  the  prophet  were  actively  pre- 
paring for  the  work.  In  that  year,  Gen.  Harrison  entered  into  a  treaty 
with  the  Delawares,  Kickapoos,  Pottawatomies,  Miamis,  Eel  River  Indians 
and  Weas,  in  which  these  tribes  ceded  to  the  whites  certain  lands  upon 
the  Wabash,  to  all  of  which  Tecumseh  entered  a  bitter  protest,  averring 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  71 

as  one  principal  reason  that  he  did  not  want  the  Indians  to  give  up  any 
lands  north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  River. 

Tecumseh,  in  August,  1810,  visited  the  General  at  Vincennes  and 
held  a  council  relating  to  the  grievances  of  the  Indians.  Becoming  unduly 
angry  at  this  conference  he  was  dismissed  from  the  village,  and  soon  after 
departed  to  incite  the  southern  Indian  tribes  to  the  conflict. 

Gen.  Harrison  determined  to  move  upon  the  chief's  headquarters  at 
Tippecanoe,  and  for  this  purpose  went  about  sixty-five  miles  up  the 
Wabash,  where  he  built  Fort  Harrison.  From  this  place  he  went  to  the 
prophet's  town,  where  he  informed  the  Indians  he  had  no  hostile  inten- 
tions, provided  they  were  true  to  the  existing  treaties.  He  encamped 
near  the  village  early  in  October,  and  on  the  morning  of  November  7,  he 
was  attacked  by  a  large  force  of  the  Indians,  and  the  famous  battle  of 
Tippecanoe  occurred.  The  Indians  were  routed  and  their  town  broken 
up.  Tecumseh  returning  not  long  after,  was  greatly  exasperated  at  his 
brother,  the  prophet,  even  threatening  to  kill  him  for  rashly  precipitating 
the  war,  and  foiling  his  (Tecumseh's)  plans. 

Tecumseh  sent  word  to  Gen.  Harrison  that  he  was  now  returned 
from  the  South,  and  was  ready  to  visit  the  President  as  had  at  one  time 
previously  been  proposed.  Gen.  Harrison  informed  him  he  could  not  go 
as  a  chief,  which  method  Tecumseh  desired,  and  the  visit  was  never 
made. 

In  June  of  the  following  year,  he  visited  the  Indian  agent  at 
Fort  Wayne.  Here  he  disavowed  any  intention  to  make  a  war  against 
the  United  States,  and  reproached  Gen.  Harrison  for  marching  against  his 
people.  The  agent  replied  to  this  ;  Tecumseh  listened  with  a  cold  indif- 
ference, and  after  making  a  few  general  remarks,  with  a  haughty  air  drew 
his  blanket  about  him,  left  the  council  house,  and  departed  for  Fort  Mai- 
den, in  Upper  Canada,  where  he  joined  the  British  standard. 

He  remained  under  this  Government,  doing  effective  work  for  the 
Crown  while  engaged  in  the  war  of  1812  which  now  opened.  He  was, 
however,  always  humane  in  his  treatment  of  the  prisoners,  never  allow- 
ing his  warriors  to  ruthlessly  mutilate  the  bodies  of  those  slain,  or  wan- 
tonly murder  the  captive. 

In  the  Summer  of  1813,  Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie  occurred,  and 
shortly  after  active  preparations  were  made  to  capture  Maiden.  On  the 
27th  of  September,  the  American  army,  under  Gen.  Harrison,  set  sail  for 
the  shores  of  Canada,  and  in  a  few  hours  stood  around  the  ruins  of  Mai- 
den, from  which  the  British  army,  under  Proctor,  had  retreated  to  Sand- 
wich, intending  to  make  its  way  to  the  heart  of  Canada  by  the  Valley  of 
the  Thames.  On  the  29th  Gen.  Harrison  was  at  Sandwich,  and  Gen. 
McArthur  took  possession  of  Detroit  and  the  territory  of  Michigan. 


72 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


On  the  2d  of  October,  the  Americans  began  their  pursuit  of  Proctor, 
whom  they  overtook  on  the  5th,  and  the  battle  of  the  Thames  followed. 
Early  in  the  engagement,  Tecumseh.  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  column 
of  Indians  was  slain,  and  they,  no  longer  hearing  the  voice  of  their  chief- 
tain, fled.  The  victory  was  decisive,  and  practically  closed  the  war  in 
the  Northwesto 


INDIANS    ATTACKING    A    STOCKADE. 


Just  who  killed  the  great  chief  has  been  a  matter  of  much  dispute  ; 
but  the  weight  of  opinion  awards  the  act  to  Col.  Richard  M.  Johnson, 
who  fired  at  him  with  a  pistol,  the  shot  proving  fatal. 

In  1805  occurred  Burr's  Insurrection.  He  took  possession  of  a 
beautiful  island  in  the  Ohio,  after  the  killing  of  Hamilton,  and  is  charged 
by  many  with  attempting  to  set  up  an  independent  government.  His 
plans  were  frustrated  by  the  general  government,  his  property  confiscated 
and  he  was  compelled  to  flee  the  country  for  safety. 


THE   NORTETWEST   TERRITORY.  73 

In  January,  1807,  Governor  Hull,  of  Michigan  Territory,  made  a 
treaty  with  the  Indians,  whereby  all  that  peninsula  was  ceded  to  the 
United  States.  Before  the  close  of  the  year,  a  stockade  was  built  about 
Detroit.  It  was  also  during  this  year  that  Indiana  and  Illinois  endeavored 
to  obtain  the  repeal  of  that  section  of  the  c.ompact  of  1787,  whereby 
slavery  was  excluded  from  the  Northwest  Territory.  These  attempts, 
however,  all  signally  failed. 

In  1809  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  divide  the  Indiana  Territory. 
This  was  done,  and  the  Territory  of  Illinois  was  formed  from  the  western 
part,  the  seat  of  government  being  fixed  at  Kaskaskia.  The  next  year, 
the  intentions  of  Tecumseh  manifested  themselves  in  open  hostilities,  and 
then  began  the  events  already  narrated. 

While  this  war  was  in  progress,  emigration  to  the  West  went  on  with 
surprising  rapidity.  In  1811,  under  Mr.  Roosevelt  of  New  York,  the 
first  steamboat  trip  was  made  on  the  Ohio,  much  to  the  astonishment  of 
the  natives,  many  of  whom  fled  in  terror  at  the  appearance  of  the 
"  monster,"  It  arrived  at  Louisville  on  the  10th  day  of  October.  At  the 
close  of  the  first  week  of  January,  1812,  it  arrived  at  Natchez,  after  being 
nearly  overwhelmed  in  the  great  earthquake  which  occurred  while  on  its 
downward  trip. 

The  battle  of  the  Thames  was  fought  on  October  6,  1813.  It 
effectually  closed  hostilities  in  the  Northwest,  although  peace  was  not 
fully  restored  until  July  22,  1814,  when  a  treaty  was  formed  at  Green- 
ville, under  the  direction  of  General  Harrison,  between  the  United  States 
and  the  Indian  tribes,  in  which  it  was  stipulated  that  the  Indians  should 
cease  hostilities  against  the  Americans  if  the  war  were  continued.  Such, 
happily,  was  not  the  case,  and  on  the  24th  of  December  the  treaty 
of  Ghent  was  signed  by  the  representatives  of  England  and  the  United 
States.  This  treaty  was  followed  the  next  year  by  treaties  with  various 
Indian  tribes  throughout  the  West  and  Northwest,  and  quiet  was  again 
restored  in  this  part  of  the  new  world. 

On  the  18th  of  March,  1816,  Pittsburgh  was  incorporated  as  a  city. 
It  then  had  a  population  of  8,000  people,  and  was  already  noted  for  its 
manufacturing  interests.  On  April  19,  Indiana  Territory  was  allowed 
to  form  a  state  government.  At  that  time  there  were  thirteen  counties 
organized,  containing  about  sixty-three  thousand  inhabitants.  The  first 
election  of  state  officers  was  held  in  August,  when  Jonathan  Jennings 
was  chosen  Governor.  The  officers  were  sworn  in  on  November  7,  and 
on  December  11,  the  State  was  formally  admitted  into  the  Union.  For 
some  time  the  seat  of  government  was  at  Corydon,  but  a  more  central 
location  being  desirable,  the  present  capital,  Indianapolis  (City  of  Indiana), 
was  laid  out  January  1,  1825. 


74  THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

On  the  28th  of  December  the  Bank  of  Illinois,  at  Shawneetown,  was 
chartered,  with  a  capital  of  $300,000.  At  this  period  all  banks  were 
under  the  control  of  the  States,  and  were  allowed  to  establish  bran^rshes 
at  different  convenient  points. 

Until  this  time  Chillicothe  and  Cincinnati  had  in  turn  enjoyed  the 
privileges  of  being  the  capital  of  Ohio.  But  the  rapid  settlement  of  the 
northern  and  eastern  portions  of  the  State  demanded,  as  in  Indiana,  a 
more  central  location,  and  before  the  close  of  the  year,  the  site  of  Col- 
umbus was  selected  and  surveyed  as  the  future  capital  of  the  State. 
Banking  had  begun  in  Ohio  as  early  as  1808,  when  the  first  bank  was 
chartered  at  Marietta,  but  here  as  elsewhere  it  did  not  bring  to  the  state 
the  hoped-for  assistance.  It  and  other  banks  were  subsequently  unable 
to  redeem  their  currency,  and  were  obliged  to  suspend. 

In  1818,  Illinois  was  made  a  state,  and  all  the  territory  north  of  her 
northern  limits  was  erected  into  a  separate  territory  and  joined  to  Mich- 
igan for  judicial  purposes.  By  the  following  year,  navigation  of  the  lakes 
was  increasing  with  great  rapidity  and  affording  an  immense  source  of 
revenue  to  the  dwellers  in  the  Northwest,  but  it  was  not  until  1826  that 
the  trade  was  extended  to  Lake  Michigan,  or  that  steamships  began  to 
navigate  the  bosom  of  that  inland  sea. 

Until  the  year  1832,  the  commencement  of  the  Black  Hawk  War, 
but  few  hostilities  were  experienced  with  the  Indians.  Roads  were 
opened,  canals  were  dug,  cities  were  built,  common  schools  were  estab- 
lished, universities  were  founded,  many  of  which,  especially  the  Michigan 
University,  have  achieved  a  world  wide-reputation.  The  people  were 
becoming  wealthy.  The  domains  of  the  United  States  had  been  extended, 
and  had  the  sons  of  the  forest  been  treated  with  honesty  and  justice,  the 
record  of  many  years  would  have  been  that  of  peace  and  continuous  pros- 
perity. 

BLACK  HAWK  AND  THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR. 

This  conflict,  though  confined  to  Illinois,  is  an  important  epoch  in 
the  Northwestern  history,  being  the  last  war  with  the  Indians  in  this  part 
of  the  United  States. 

Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah,  or  Black  Hawk,  was  born  in  the  principal 
Sac  village,  about  three  miles  from  the  junction  of  Rock  River  with  the 
Mississippi,  in  the  year  1767.  His  father's  name  was  Py-e-sa  or  Pahaes ; 
his  grandfather's,  Na-na-ma-kee,  or  the  Thunderer.  Black  Hawk  early 
distinguished  himself  as  a  warrior,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  was  permitted 
to  paint  and  was  ranked  among  the  braves.  About  the  year  1783,  he 
went  on  an  expedition  against  the  enemies  of  his  nation,  the  Osages,  one 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


75 


BLACK  HAWK,  THE  SAC  CHIEFTAIN. 


76  THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

of  whom  he  killed  and  scalped,  and  for  this  deed  of  Indian  bravery  he  was 
permitted  to  join  in  the  scalp  dance.  Three  or  four  years  after  he,  at  the 
head  of  two  hundred  braves,  went  on  another  expedition  against  the 
Osages,  to  avenge  the  murder  of  some  women  and  children  belonging  to  , 
his  own  tribe.  Meeting  an  equal  number  of  Osage  warriors,  a  fierce 
battle  ensued,  in  which  the  latter  tribe  lost  one-half  their  number.  The 
Sacs  lost  only  about  nineteen  warriors.  He  next  attacked  the  Cherokees 
for  a  similar  cause.  In  a  severe  battle  with  them,  near  the  present  City 
of  St.  Louis,  his  father  was  slain,  and  Black  Hawk,  taking  possession  of 
the  "  Medicine  Bag,"  at  once  announced  himself  chief  of  the  Sac  nation. 
He  had  now  conquered  the  Cherokees,  and  about  the  year  1800,  at  the 
head  of  live  hundred  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and  a  hundred  lowas,  he  waged 
Avar  against  the  Osage  nation  and  subdued  it.  For  two  years  he  battled 
successfully  with  other  Indian  tribes,  all  of  whom  he  conquered. 

Black  Hawk  does  not  at  any  time  seem  to  have  been  friendly  to 
the  Americans.  When  on  a  visit  to  St.  Louis  to  see  his  '*  S[)anish 
Father,"  he  declined  to  see  any  of  the  Americans,  alleging,  as  a  reason, 
he  did  not  want  ttoo  fathers. 

The  treaty  at  St.  Louis  was  consummated  in  1804.  The  next  year  the 
United  States  Government  erected  a  fort  near  the  head  of  the  Des  Moines 
Rapids,  called  Fort  Edwards.  This  seemed  to  enrage  Black  Hawk,  who 
at  once  determined  to  capture  Fort  Madison,  standing  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Mississippi  above  the  mouth  of  the  Des  Moines  River.  The  fort  was 
^•arrisoned  by  about  fifty  men.  Here  he  was  defeated.  The  difficulties 
with  the  British  Government  arose  about  this  time,  and  the  War  of  1812 
followed.  That  government,  extending  aid  to  the  Western  Indians,  by 
living  them  arms  and  ammunition,  induced  them  to  remain  hostile  to  the 
Americans.  In  August,  1812,  Black  Hawk,  at  the  head  of  about  five 
hundred  braves,  started  to  join  the  British  forces  at  Detroit,  passing  on 
his  way  the  site  of  Chicago,  where  the  famous  Fort  Dearborn  jSIassacre 
'  \i  few  days  before  occurred.  Of  his  connection  with  the  British 
_  L  .  ernment  but  little  is  known.  In  1813  he  with  his  little  band  descended 
the  Mississippi,  and  attacking  some  United  States  troops  at  Fort  Howard 
was  defeated. 

In  the  early  part  of  1815,  the  Indian  tribes  west  of  the  Mississippi 
were  notified  that  peace  had  been  declared  between  the  United  States 
■and  England,  and  nearly  all  hostilities  had  ceased.  Black  Hawk  did  not 
sign  any  treaty,  however,  until  May  of  the  following  year.  He  then  recog- 
nized the  validity  of  the  treaty  at  St.  Louis  in  1804.  From  the  time  of 
signing  this  treaty  in  1816,  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1832,  he 
and  his  band  passed  their  time  in  the  common  pursuits  of  Indian  life. 

Ten  years  before  the  commencement  of  this  war,  the  Sac  and  Fox 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  77 

Indians  were  urged  to  join  the  lowas  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Father  of 
Waters.  All  were  agreed,  save  the  band  known  as  the  British  Band,  of 
which  Black  Hawk  was  leader.  He  strenuously  objected  to  the  removal, 
and  was  induced  tocomply  only  after  being  threatened  with  the  power  of 
the  Government.  This  and  various  actions  on  the  part  of  the  white  set- 
tlers provoked  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  to  attempt  the  capture  of  his 
native  village  now  occupied  by  the  whites.  The  war  followed.  He  and 
his  actions  were  undoubtedly  misunderstood,  and  had  his  wishes  been 
acquiesced  in  at  the  beginning  of  the  struggle,  much  bloodshed  would 
have  been  prevented. 

Black  Hawk  was  chief  now  of  the  Sac  and  Fox  nations,  and  a  noted 
warrior.  He  and  his  tribe  inhabited  a  village  on  Rock  River,  nearly  three 
miles  above  its  confluence  with  the  Mississippi,  where  the  tribe  had  lived 
many  generations.  When  that  portion  of  Illinois  was  reserved  to  them, 
they  remained  in  peaceable  possession  of  their  reservation,  spending  their 
time  in  the  enjoyment  of  Indian  life.  The  fine  situation  of  their  village 
and  the  quality  of  their  lands  incited  the  more  lawless  white  settlers,  who 
from  time  to  time  began  to  encroach  upon  the  red  men's  domain.  From 
one  pretext  to  another,  and  from  one  step  to  another,  the  crafty  white 
men  gained  a  foothold,  until  through  whisky  and  artifice  they  obtained 
deeds  from  many  of  the  Indians  for  their  possessions.  The  Indians  were 
finally  induced  to  cross  over  the  Father  of  Waters  and  locate  among  the 
lowas.  Black  Hawk  was  strenuously  opposed  to  all  this,  but  as  the 
authorities  of  Illinois  and  the  United  States  thought  this  the  best  move,  he 
was  forced  to  comply.  Moreover  other  tribes  joined  the  whites  and  urged 
the  removal.  Black  Hawk  would  not  agree  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
made  with  his  nation  for  their  lands,  and  as  soon  as  the  military,  called  to 
enforce  his  removal,  had  retired,  he  returned  to  the  Illinois  side  of  the 
river.  A  large  force  was  at  once  raised  and  marched  against  him.  On 
the  evening  of  May  14,  1832,  the  first  engagement  occurred  between  a 
band  from  this  army  and  Black  Hawk's  band,  in  which  the  former  were 
defeated. 

This  attack  and  its  result  aroused  the  whites.  A  large  force  of  men 
was  raised,  and  Gen.  Scott  hastened  from  the  seaboard,  by  way  of  the 
lakes,  with  United  States  troops  and  artillery  to  aid  in  the  subjugation  of 
the  Indians.  On  the  24th  of  June,  Black  Hawk,  with  200  warriors,  was 
repulsed  by  Major  Demont  between  Rock  River  and  Galena.  The  Ameri- 
can army  continued  to  move  up  Rock  River  toward  the  main  body  of 
the  Indians,  and  on  the  21st  of  July  came  upon  Black  Hawk  and  his  band, 
and  defeated  them  near  the  Blue  Mounds. 

Before  this  action.  Gen.  Henry,  in  command,  sent  word  to  the  main 
army  by  whom  he  was  immediately  rejoined,  and  the  whole  crossed  the 

N'oTE.— The  above  is  the  generally  accepted  version  of  the  cause  of  the  Black  Hawk  War,  but  in  our  History  of 
Jo  Daviess  County.  111.,  we  had  occasii.  n  to  go  to  the  bottom  of  this  matter,  and  have,  we  think,  found  the  actual 
cause  of  the  war,  which  will  be  found  on  page  157. 


(8  THE  NORTHWEST   TERKITORy. 

"Wisconsin  in  pursuit  of  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  who  were  fleeing  to  the 
Mississippi.  They  were  overtaken  on  the  2d  of  August,  and  in  the  battle 
which  followed  the  power  of  the  Indian  chief  was  completely  broken.  He 
fled,  but  was  seized  by  the  Winnebagoes  and  delivered  to  the  whites. 

On  the  21st  of  September,  1832,  Gen.  Scott  and  Gov.  Reynolds  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  the  Winnebagoes,  Sacs  and  Foxes  by  which  they 
ceded  to  the  United  States  a  vast  tract  of  country,  and  agreed  to  remain 
peaceable  with  the  whites.  For  the  faithful  performance  of  the  provi- 
sions of  this  treaty  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  it  was  stipulated  that 
Black  Hawk,  his  two  sons,  the  prophet  Wabokieshiek,  and  six  other  chiefs, 
of  the  hostile  bands  should  be  retained  as  hostages  during  the  pleasure 
of  the  President.    They  were  confined  at  Fort  Barracks  and  put  in  irons. 

The  next  Spring,  by  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  they  were  taken 
to  Washington.  From  there  they  were  removed  to  Fortress  Monroe, 
"there  to  remain  until  the  conduct  of  their  nation  was  such  as  to  justify 
their  being  set  at  liberty."  They  were  retained  here  until  the  4th  of 
June,  when  the  authorities  directed  them  to  be  taken  to  the  principal 
cities  so  that  they  might  see  the  folly  of  contending  against  the  white 
people.  Everj^where  they  were  observed  by  thousands,  the  name  of  the 
old  chief  being  cKtensively  known.  By  the  middle  of  August  they 
reached  Fort  Armstrong  on  Rock  Island,  where  Black  Hawk  was  soon 
after  released  to  go  to  his  countrymen.  As  he  passed  the  site  of  his  birth- 
place, now  the  home  of  the  white  man,  he  was  deeply  moved.  His  village 
where  he  was  born,  where  he  had  so  happily  lived,  and  where  he  had 
hoped  to  die,  was  now  another's  dwelling  place,  and  he  was  a  wanderer. 

On  the  next  day  after  his  release,  he  went  at  once  to  his  tribe  and 
his  lodge.  His  wife  was  yet  living,  and  with  her  he  passed  the  remainder 
of  his  days.  To  his  credit  it  may  be  said  that  Black  Hawk  always  re- 
mained true  to  his  wife,  and  served  her  with  a  devotion  uncommon  among 
the  Indians,  living  with  her  upward  of  forty  years. 

Black  Hawk  now  passed  his  time  hunting  and  fishing.  A  deep  mel- 
ancholy had  settled  over  him  from  which  he  could  not  be  freed.  At  all 
times  when  he  visited  the  whites  he  was  received  with  marked  atten- 
tion. He  was  an  honored  guest  at  the  old  settlers'  reunion  in  Lee  County, 
Illinois,  at  some  of  their  meetings,  and  received  many  tokens  of  esteem. 
In  September,  1838,  while  on  his  way  to  Rock  Island  to  receive  his 
annuity  from  the  Government,  he  contracted  a  severe  cold  which  resulted 
in  a  fatal  attack  of  bilious  fever  which  terminated  his  life  on  October  3. 
His  faithful  wife,  who  was  devotedly  attached  to  him,  mourned  deeply 
during  his  sickness.  After  his  death  he  was  dressed  in  the  uniform  pre- 
sented to  him  by  the  President  while  in  Washington.  He  was  buried  in 
a  grave  six  feet  in  depth,  situated  upon  a  beautiful  eminence.     "  The 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  79 

body  was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  grave,  in  a  sitting  posture,  upon  a 
seat  constructed  for  the  purpose.  On  his  left  side,  the  cane,  given  him 
by  Henry  Clay,  was  placed  upright,  with  his  right  hand  resting  upon  it. 
Many  of  the  old  warrior's  trophies  were  placed  in  the  grave,  and  some 
Indian  garments,  together  with  his  favorite  weapons.'" 

No  sooner  was  the  Black  Hawk  war  concluded  than  settlers  began 
rapidly  to  pour  into  the  northern  parts  of  Illinois,  and  into  Wisconsin, 
now  free  from  Indian  depredations.  Chicago,  from  a  trading  post,  had 
grown  to  a  commercial  center,  and  was  rapidly  coming  into  prominence. 
In  1835,  the  formation  of  a  State  Government  in  Michigan  was  discussed, 
but  did  not  take  active  form  until  two  years  later,  when  the  State  became 
a  part  of  the  Federal  Union. 

The  main  attraction  to  that  portion  of  the  Northwest  lying  west  of 
Lake  Michigan,  now  included  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  was  its  alluvial 
wealth.  Copper  ore  was  found  about  Lake  Superior.  For  some  time  this 
region  was  attached  to  Michigan  for  judiciary  purposes,  but  in  1830  was 
made  a  territory,  then  including  Minnesota  and  Iowa.  The  latter  State 
was  detached  two  years  later.  In  1848,  Wisconsin  was  admitted  as  a 
State,  Madison  being  made  the  capital.  We  have  now  traced  the  various 
divisions  of  the  Northwest  Territory  (save  a  little  in  Minnesota)  from 
the  time  it  was  a  unit  comprising  this  vast  territor}',  until  circumstances 
compelled  its  present  division. 

OTHER   INDIAN   TROUBLES. 

Before  leaving  this  part  of  the  narrative,  we  will  narrate  briefly  the 
Indian  troubles  in  Minnesota  and  elsewhere  by  the  Sioux  Indians. 

In  August,  1862,  the  Sioux  Indians  living  on  the  western  borders  of 
Minnesota  fell  upon  the  unsuspecting  settlers,  and  in  a  few  hours  mas- 
sacred ten  or  twelve  hundred  persons.  A  distressful  panic  was  the 
immediate  result,  fully  thirty  thousand  persons  fleeing  from  their  homes 
to  districts  supposed  to  be  better  protected.  The  military  authorities 
at  once  took  active  measures  to  punish  the  savages,  and  a  large  number 
were  killed  and  captured.  About  a  year  after,  Little  Crow,  the  chief, 
was  killed  by  a  Mr.  Lampson  near  Scattered  Lake.  Of  those  captured, 
thirty  were  hung  at  Mankato,  and  the  remainder,  through  fears  of  mob 
violence,  were  removed  to  Camp  McClellan,  on  the  outskirts  of  the  City 
of  Davenport.  It  was  here  that  Big  Eagle  came  into  prominence  and 
secured  his  release  by  the  following  order : 


80 


THE  NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


BIG  EAGLE. 


THE   NOETHWEST   TERRITORY.  01 

"Special  Order,  No.  430.  "War  Department, 

"  Adjutant  General's  Office,  Washington,  Dec.  3, 1864. 

"  Big  Eagle,  an  Indian  now  in  confinement  at  Davenport,  Iowa,, 
will,  upon  the  receipt  of  this  order,  be  immediately  released  from  confine- 
ment and  set  at  liberty. 

"  By  order  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
"  Official :  "  E.  D.  TowNSEND,  Ass't  Adft  Gen. 

"  Capt.  James  Vanderventer,  Com'y  Sub.  Vols. 

"  Through  Com'g  Gen'l,  Washington,  D.  C." 

Another  Indian  who  figures  more  prominently  than  Big  Eagle,  and 
who  was  more  cowardly  in  his  nature,  with  his  band  of  Modoc  Indians, 
is  noted  in  the  annals  of  the  New  Northwest:  we  refer  to  Captain  Jack. 
This  distinguished  Indian,  noted  for  his  cowardly  murder  of  Gen.  Canby, 
was  a  chief  of  a  Modoc  tribe  of  Indians  inhabiting  the  border  lands 
between  California  and  Oregon.  This  region  of  country  comprises  what 
is  known  as  the  "  Lava  Beds,"  a  tract  of  land  described  as  utterly  impene- 
trable, save  by  those  savages  who  had  made  it  their  home. 

The  Modocs  are  known  as  an  exceedingly  fierce  and  treacherous 
race.  They  had,  according  to  their  own  traditions,  resided  here  for  many 
generations,  and  at  one  time  were  exceedingly  numerous  and  powerful. 
A  famine  carried  off  nearly  half  their  numbers,  and  disease,  indolence 
and  the  vices  of  the  white  man  have  reduced  them  to  a  poor,  weak  and 
insignificant  tribe. 

Soon  after  the  settlement  of  California  and  Oregon,  complaints  began 
to  be  heard  of  massacres  of  emigrant  trains  passing  through  the  Modoo 
country.  In  1847,  an  emigrant  train,  comprising  eighteen  souls,  was  en- 
tirely destroyed  at  a  place  since  known  as  "  Bloody  Point."  These  occur- 
rences caused  the  United  States  Government  to  appoint  a  peace  commission^ 
who,  after  repeated  attempts,  in  1864,  made  a  treaty  with  the  Modocs, 
Snakes  and  Klamaths,  in  Avhich  it  was  agreed  on  their  part  to  remove  to 
a  reservation  set  apart  for  them  in  the  southern  part  of  Oregon. 

With  the  exception  of  Captain  Jack  and  a  band  of  his  followers,  who 
remained  at  Clear  Lake,  about  six  miles  from  Klamath,  all  the  Indians 
complied.  The  Modocs  who  went  to  the  reservation  were  under  chief 
Schonchin.  Captain  Jack  remained  at  the  lake  without  disturbance 
until  1869,  when  he  was  also  induced  to  remove  to  the  reservation.  The 
Modocs  and  the  Klamaths  soon  became  involved  in  a  quarrel,  and  Captain 
Jack  and  his  band  returned  to  the  Lava  Beds. 

Several  attempts  were  made  by  the  Indian  Commissioners  to  induce 
them  to  return  to  the  reservation,  and  finally  becoming  involved  in  a 


82  THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

difficulty  with  the  commissioner  and  his  military  escort,  a  fight  ensued, 
in  which  the  chief  and  his  band  were  routed.  They  were  greatly  enraged, 
and  on  their  retreat,  before  the  day  closed,  killed  eleven  inoffensive  whites. 

The  nation  was  aroused  and  immediate  action  demanded.  A  com- 
mission was  at  once  appointed  by  the  Government  to  see  what  could  be 
done.  It  comprised  the  following  persons  :  Gen.  E.  R.  S.  Canby,  Rev. 
Dr.  E.  Thomas,  a  leading  Methodist  divine  of  California ;  Mr.  A.  B. 
Meacham,  Judge  Rosborough,  of  California,  and  a  Mr.  Dyer,  of  Oregon. 
After  several  interviews,  in  which  the  savages  were  always  aggressive, 
often  appearing  with  scalps  in  their  belts,  Bogus  Charley  came  to  the 
commission  on  the  evening  of  April  10,  1873,  and  informed  them  that 
Capt.  Jack  and  his  band  would  have  a  "  talk  "  to-morrow  at  a  place  near 
Clear  Lake,  about  three  miles  distant.  Here  the  Commissioners,  accom- 
panied by  Charley,  Riddle,  the  interpreter,  and  Boston  Charley  repaired. 
After  the  usual  greeting  the  council  proceedings  commenced.  On  behalf 
of  the  Indians  there  were  present :  Capt.  Jack,  Black  Jim,  Schnac  Nasty 
Jim,  Ellen's  Man,  and  Hooker  Jim.  They  had  no  guns,  but  carried  pis- 
tols. After  short  speeches  by  Mr.  Meacham,  Gen.  Canby  and  Dr.  Thomas, 
Chief  Schonchin  arose  to  speak.  He  had  scarcely  proceeded  when, 
as  if  by  a  preconcerted  arrangement,  Capt.  Jack  drew  his  pistol  and  shot 
Gen.  Canby  dead.  In  less  than  a  minute  a  dozen  shots  were  fired  by  the 
savages,  and  the  massacre  completed.  Mr.  Meacham  was  shot  by  Schon- 
chin, and  Dr.  Thomas  by  Boston  Charley.  Mr.  Dyer  barely  escaped,  being 
fired  at  twice.  Riddle,  the  interpreter,  and  his  squaw  escaped.  The 
troops  rushed  to  the  spot  where  they  found  Gen.  Canby  and  Dr.  Thomas 
dead,  and  Mr.  Meacham  badly  wounded.  The  savages  had  escaped  to 
their  impenetrable  fastnesses  and  could  not  be  pursued. 

The  whole  country  was  aroused  by  this  brutal  massacre ;  but  it  was 
not  until  the  following  May  that  the  murderers  were  brought  to  justice. 
At  that  time  Boston  Charley  gave  himself  up,  and  offered  to  guide  the 
troops  to  Capt.  Jack's  stronghold.  This  led  to  the  capture  of  his  entire 
gang,  a  number  of  whom  were  murdered  by  Oregon  volunteers  while  on 
their  way  to  trial.  The  remaining  Indians  were  held  as  prisoners  until 
July  when  their  trial  occurred,  which  led  to  the  conviction  of  Capt. 
Jack,  Schonchin,  Boston  Charley,  Hooker  Jim,  Broncho,  alias  One-Eyed 
Jim,  and  Slotuck,  who  were  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  These  sentences 
were  approved  by  the  President,  save  in  the  case  of  Slotuck  and  Broncho 
whose  sentences  were  commuted  to  imprisonment  for  life.  The  others 
were  executed  at  Fort  Klamath,  October  3,  1873. 

These  closed  the  Indian  troubles  for  a  time  in  the  Northwest,  and  for 
several  years  the  borders  of  civilization  remained  in  peace.  They  were 
again  involved  in  a   conflict  with  the  savages  about  the  country  of  the 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRLTOKY. 


83 


CAPTAIN  JACK,  THE  MODOC  CHIEFTAIN. 


«J4  THE  NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

Black  Hills,  in  which  war  the  gallant  Gen.  Custer  lost  his  life.  Just 
now  the  borders  of  Oregon  and  California  are  again  in  fear  of  hostilities  ; 
but  as  the  Government  has  learned  how  to  deal  with  the  Indians,  they 
will  be  of  short  duration.  The  red  man  is  fast  passing  away  before  the 
march  of  the  white  man,  and  a  few  more  generations  will  read  of  the 
Indians  as  one  of  the  nations  of  the  past. 

The  Northwest  abounds  in  memorable  places.  We  have  generally 
noticed  them  in  the  narrative,  but  our  space  forbids  their  description  in 
detail,  save  of  the  most  important  places.  Detroit,  Cincinnati,  Vincennes, 
Kaskaskia  and  their  kindred  towns  have  all  been  described.  But  ere  we 
leave  the  narrative  we  will  present  our  readers  Avith  an  account  of  the 
Kinzie  house,  the  old  landmark  of  Chicago,  and  the  discovery  of  the 
source  of  the  Mississippi  River,  each  of  which  may  well  find  a  place  in 
the  annals  of  the  Northwest. 

Mr.  John  Kinzie,  of  the  Kinzie  house,  represented  in  the  illustra- 
tion, established  a  trading  house  at  Fort  Dearborn  in  1804.  The  stockade 
had  been  erected  the  year  previous,  and  named  Fort  Dearborn  in  honor 
of  the  Secretary  of  War.  It  had  a  block  house  at  each  of  the  two  angles, 
on  the  southern  side  a  sallyport,  a  covered  way  on  the  north  side,  that  led 
down  to  the  river,  for  the  double  purpose  of  providing  means  of  escape, 
and  of  procuring  water  in  the  event  of  a  siege. 

Fort  Dearborn  stood  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Chicago  River,  about 
half  a  mile  from  its  mouth.  When  Major  Whistler  built  it,  his  soldiers 
hauled  all  the  timber,  for  he  had  no  oxen,  and  so  economically  did  he 
work  that  the  fort  cost  the  Government  only  fifty  dollars.  For  a  while 
the  garrison  could  get  no  grain,  and  W  histler  and  his  men  subsisted  on 
acorns.     Now  Chicago  is  the  greatest  grain  center  in  the  world. 

Mr.  Kinzie  bought  the  hut  of  the  first  settler,  Jean  Baptiste  Point  aii 
Sable,  on  the  site  of  which  he  erected  his  mansion.  Within  an  inclosure 
in  front  he  planted  some  Lombardy  poplars,  seen  in  the  engraving,  and  in 
the  rear  he  soon  had  a  fine  garden  and  growing  orchard. 

In  1S12  the  Kinzie  house  and  its  surroundings  became  the  theater 
of  stirring  events.  The  garrison  of  Fort  Dearborn  consisted  of  fifty-four 
men.  under  the  charge  of  Capt.  Nathan  Heald,  assisted  by  Lieutenant 
Lenai  T.  Helm  (^son-in-law  to  Mrs.  Kinzie),  and  Ensign  Ronan.  The 
surgeon  was  Dr.  Voorhees.  The  only  residents  at  the  post  at  that  time 
were  the  wives  of  Capt.  Heald  and  Lieutenant  Helm  and  a  few  of  the 
soldiers,  Mr.  Kinzie  and  his  family,  and  a  few  Canadian  vo^-agers  with  their 
wives  and  children.  The  soldiers  and  Mr.  Kinzie  were  on  the  most 
friendly  terms  with  the  Pottawatomies  and  the  Winnebagoes,  the  prin- 
cipal tribes  around  them,  but  they  could  not  win  them  from  their  attach- 
ment to  the  British. 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


S5 


After  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  it  was  observed  that  some  of  the  lead- 
ing chiefs  became  sullen,  for  some  of  their  people  had  perished  in  that 
conflict  with  American  troops. 

One  evening  in  April,  1812,  Mr.  Kinzie  sat  playing  his  violin  and  his 
children  were  dancing  to  the  music,  when  Mrs.  Kinzie  came  rushing  into 
the  house  pale  with  terror,  and  exclaiming,  "  The  Indians  !  the  Indians  !  " 
"  What?  Where  ?  "  eagerly  inquired  Mr.  Kinzie.  "  Up  at  Lee's,  killing 
and  scalping,"  answered  the  frightened  mother,  who,  when  the  alarm  was 
given,  was  attending  Mrs.  Burns,  a  newly-made  mother,  living  not  far  off. 


KIWZIE    HOUSE. 

Mr.  Kinzie  and  his  family  crossed  the  river  in  boats,  and  took  refuge  in 
the  fort,  to  which  place  Mrs.  Burns  and  her  infant,  not  a  day  old,  were 
conveyed  in  safety  to  the  shelter  of  the  guns  of  Fort  Dearborn,  and  the 
rest  of  the  white  inhabitants  fled.  The  Indians  were  a  scalping  party  of 
Winnebagoes,  who  hovered  around  the  fort  some  days,  when  they  dis- 
appeared, and  for  several  weeks  the  inhabitants  were  not  disturbed  by 
alarms. 

Chicago  was  then  so  deep  in  the  wilderness,  that  the  news  of  the 
declaration  of  war  against  Great  Britain,  made  on  the  19th  of  June,  1812, 
did  not  reach  the  commander  of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Dearborn  till  the  7th 
of  August.  Now  the  fast  mail  train  will  carry  a  man  from  New  York  to 
Chicago  in  twenty-seven  hours,  and  such  a  declaration  might  be  sentj 
every  word,  by  the  telegraph  in  less  than  the  same  number  of  minutes. 


86 


THE  KOETHWEST   TERRITORY. 


PRESENT    CONDITION    OF    THE    NORTHWEST. 


Preceding  chapters  have  brought  us  to  the  close  of  the  Black  Hawk 
war,  and  Ave  now  turn  to  the  contemplation  of  the  growth  and  prosperity 
of  the  Northwest  under  the  smile  of  peace  and  the  blessings  of  our  civili- 
za.tion.     The  pioneers  of  this  region  date  events  back  to  the  deep  snow 


A    EEPKESENTATIVE    PIOJfEEE. 


of  1831,  no  one  arriving  here  since  that  date  taking  first  honors.  The 
inciting  cause  of  the  immigration  which  overflowed  the  prairies  early  in 
the  '30s  was  the  reports  of  the  marvelous  beauty  and  fertility  of  the 
region  distributed  through  the  East  by  those  who  had  participated  in  the 
Black  Hawk  campaign  with  Gen.  Scott.  Chicago  and  Milwaukee  then 
had  a  few  hundred  inhabitants,  and  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard's  trail  from  the 
former  citv  to  Kaskaskia  led  almost  through  a  wilderness.  Veo-etables 
and  clothing  were  largely  distributed  through  the  regions  adjoining  the 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


87 


lakes  by  steamers  from  the  Ohio  towns.     There  are  men  now  living  in 
Illinois  who  came  to  the  state  when  barely  an  acre  was  in  cultivation, 
and  a  man  now  prominent  in  the  business  circles  of  Chicago  looked  over 
the  swampy,  cheerless  site  of  that  metropolis  in  1818  and  went  south 
ward  into  civilization.     Emigrants  from  Pennsylvania  in  1830  left  behind 


LINCOLN    MONUMENT,    SPKINGFIELD,    ILLINOIS. 

them  but  one  small  railway  in  the  coal  regions,  thirty  miles  in  length, 
and  made  their  way  to  the  Northwest  mostly  with  ox  teams,  finding  in 
Northern  Illinois  petty  settlements  scores  of  miles  apart,  although  the 
southern  portion  of  the  state  was  fairly  dotted  with  farms.  The 
water  courses  of  the  lakes  and  rivers  furnished  transportation  to  the 
second  great  army  of  immigrants,  and  about  1850  railroads  were 
pushed  to  that  extent  that  the  crisis  of  1837  was  precipitated  upon  us, 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


horn  the  effects  of  which  the  Western  country  had  not  fully  recovered 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  Hostilities  found  the  colonists  of  the  prairies 
folly  alive  to  the  demands  of  the  occasion,  and  the  honor  of  recruiting 

liliilliliitiiii'^l'^^il'^^ 


the  vast  armies  of  the  Union  fell  largely  to  the  Governors  of  the  Western 
States.  The  struggle,  on  the  whole,  had  a  marked  effect  for  the  better  on  the 
new  Northwest,  giving  it  an  impetus  which  twenty  years  of  peace  would  not  have 
produced.  In  a  large  degree,  this  prosperity  was  an  inflated  one;  and,  with 
ihe  rest  of  the  Union,  we  have  since  been  compelled  to  atone  therefor  by  four 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.  89 

years  of  depression  of  values,  of  scarcity  of  employment,  and  loss  of 
fortune.  To  a  less  degree,  however,  than  the  manufacturing  or  mining 
regions  has  the  West  suffered  during  the  prolonged  panic  now  so  near  its 
end.  Agriculture,  still  the  leading  feature  in  our  industries,  has  been 
quite  prosperous  through  all  these  dark  years,  and  the  farmers  have 
cleared  away  many  incumbrances  resting  over  them  from  the  period  of 
fictitious  values.  The  population  has  steadily  increased,  the  arts  and 
sciences  are  gaining  a  stronger  foothold,  the  trade  area  of  the  region  is 
becoming  daily  more  extended,  and  v\^e  have  been  largely  exempt  from 
the  financial  calamities  wMch  have  nearly  wrecked  communities  on  the 
seaboard  dependent  wholly  on  foreign  commerce  or  domestic  manufacture. 

At  the  present  period  there  are  no  great  schemes  broached  for  the 
Northwest,  no  propositions  for  government  subsidies  or  national  works 
of  improvement,  but  the  capital  of  the  world  is  attracted  hither  for  the 
purchase  of  our  products  or  the  expansion  of  our  capacity  for  serving  ths 
nation  at  large.  Anew  era  is  dawning  as  to  transportation,  and  we  bid 
fair  to  deal  almost  exclusively  with  the  increasing  and  expanding  lines 
of  steel  rail  running  through  every  few  miles  of  territory  on  the  prairies. 
The  lake  marine  will  no  doubt  continue  to  be  useful  in  the  warmer 
season,  and  to  serve  as  a  regulator  of  freight  rates;  but  experienced 
navigators  forecast  the  decay  of  the  system  in  moving  to  the  seaboard 
the  enormous  crops  of  the  West.  Within  the  past  five  years  it  has 
become  quite  common  to  see  direct  shipments  to  Europe  and  the  West 
Indies  going  through  from  the  second-class  towns  along  the  Mississippi 
and  Missouri. 

As  to  popular  education,  the  standard  has  of  late  risen  very  greatly, 
and  our  schools  would  be  creditable  to  any  section  of  the  Union. 

More  and  more  as  the  events  of  the  war  pass  into  obscurity  will  the 
fate  of  the  Northwest  be  linked  with  that  of  the  Southwest,  and  the 
next  Congressional  apportionment  will  give  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi 
absolute  control  of  the  legislation  of  the  nation,  and  do  much  toward 
securing  the  removal  of  the  Federal  capitol  to  some  more  central  location. 

Our  public  men  continue  to  wield  the  full  share  of  influence  pertain- 
ing to  their  rank  in  the  national  autonomy,  and  seem  not  to  forget  that 
for  the  past  sixteen  years  they  and  their  constituents  have  dictated  the 
principles  which  should  govern  the  country. 

In  a  work  like  this,  destined  to  lie  on  the  shelves  of  the  library  for 
generations,  and  not  doomed  to  daily  destruction  like  a  nevvspaper,  one 
can  not  indulge  in  the  same  glowing  predictions,  the  sanguine  statements 
of  actualities  that  fill  the  columns  of  ephemeral  publications.  Time  may 
bring  grief  to  the  pet  projects  of  a  writer,  and  explode  castles  erected  on 
a  pedestal  of  facts.     Yet  there  are  unmistakable  indications  before  us  of 


90  THE   NORTHWEST   TEERITORY. 

the  same  radical  change  in  onr  great  Northwest  which  characterizes  its 
history-  for  the  past  thirty  years.  Our  domain  has  a  sort  of  natural 
geographical  border,  save  where  it  melts  away  to  the  southward  in  the 
cattle  raising  districts  of  the  southwest. 

Our  prime  interest  will  for  some  years  doubtless  be  the  growth  of 
the  food  of  the  world,  in  which  branch  it  has  already  outstripped  all 
competitors,  and  our  great  rival  in  this  duty  will  naturally  be  the  fertile 
plains  of  Kansas,  Nebraska  and  Colorado,  to  say  nothing  of  the  new 
empire  so  rapidly  growing  up  in  Texas.  Over  these  regions  there  is  a 
continued  progress  in  agriculture  and  in  railway  building,  and  we  must 
look  to  our  laurels.  Intelligent  observers  of  events  are  fully  aware  of 
the  strides  made  in  the  way  of  shipments  of  fresh  meats  to  Europe, 
many  of  these  ocean  cargoes  being  actually  slaughtered  in  the  West  and 
transported  on  ice  to  the  wharves  of  the  seaboard  cities.  That  this  new 
enterprise  will  continue  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt.  There  are  in 
Chicago  several  factories  for  the  canning  of  prepared  meats  for  European 
consumption,  and  the  orders  for  this  class  of  goods  are  already  immense. 
English  capital  is  becoming  daily  more  and  more  dissatisfied  with  railway 
loans  and  investments,  and  is  gradually  seeking  mammoth  outlays  in 
lands  and  live  stock.  The  stock  yards  in  Chicago,  Indianapolis  and  East 
St.  Louis  are  yearlj^  increasing  their  facilities,  and  their  plant  steadily 
grows  more  valuable.  Importations  of  blooded  animals  from  the  pro- 
gressive countries  of  Europe  are  destined  to  greatly  improve  the  quality 
of  our  beef  and  mutton.  Nowhere  is  there  to  be  seen  a  more  enticing 
display  in  this  line  than  at  our  state  and  county  fairs,  and  the  interest 
in  the  matter  is  on  the  increase. 

To  attempt  to  give  statistics  of  our  grain  production  for  1877  would 
be  useless,  so  far  have  we  surpassed  ourselves  in  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  our  product.  We  are  too  liable  to  forget  that  we  are  giving 
the  world  its  first  article  of  necessity  —  its  food  supply.  An  opportunity 
to  learn  this  fact  so  it  never  can  be  forgotten  was  afforded  at  Chicago  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  great  panic  of  1873,  when  Canadian  purchasers, 
fearing  the  prostration  of  business  mightbring  about  an  anarchical  condition 
of  affairs,  went  to  that  city  with  coin  in  bulk  and  foreign  drafts  to  secure 
their  supplies  in  their  own  currency  at  first  hands.  It  may  be  justly 
claimed  by  the  agricultural  community  that  their  combined  efforts  gave 
the  nation  its  first  impetus  toward  a  restoration  of  its  crippled  industries, 
and  their  labor  brought  the  gold  premium  to  a  lower  depth  than  the 
government  was  able  to  reach  by  its  most  intense  efforts  of  legislation 
and  compulsion.  The  hundreds  of  millions  about  to  be  disbursed  for 
farm  products  have  alread}-,  by  the  antici|)ation  common  to  all  commercial 


THE  NORTHWEST   TERRITOEY. 


91 


nations,  set  the  wheels  in  motion,  and  will  relieve  us  from  the  perils  so 
long  shadowing  our  efforts  to  return  to  a  healthy  tone. 

Manufacturing  has  attained  in  the  chief  cities  a  foothold  which  bids 
fair  to  render  the  Northwest  independent  of  the  outside  world.     Nearly 


our  whole  region  has  a  distribution  of  coal  measures  which  will  in  time 
support  the  manufactures  necessary  to  our  comfort  and  prosperity.  As 
to  transportation,  the  chief  factor  in  the  production  of  all  articles  except 
food,  no  section  is  so  magnificently  endowed,  and  our  facilities  are  yearly 
increasing  beyond  those  of  any  other  region. 


92  THE    NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 

The  period  from  a  central  point  of  the  war  to  the  outbreak  of  the 
panic  was  marked  by  a  tremendous  growth  in  our  railway  lines,  but  the 
depression  of  the  times  caused  almost  a  total  suspension  of  operations. 
NoAv  that  prosperity  is  returning  to  our  stricken  country  we  witness  its 
anticipation  by  the  railroad  interest  in  a  series  of  projects,  extensions, 
and  leases  whicli  bid  fair  to  largely  increase  our  transportation  facilities. 
The  process  of  foreclosure  and  sale  of  incumbered  lines  is  another  matter 
to  be  considered.  In  the  case  of  the  Illinois  Central  road,  which  formerly 
transferred  to  other  lines  at  Cairo  the  vast  burden  of  freight  destined  for 
the  Gulf  region,  we  now  see  the  incorporation  of  the  tracks  connecting 
through  to  New  Orleans,  every  mile  co-operating  in  turning  toward  the 
northwestern  metropolis  the  weight  of  the  inter-state  commerce  of  a 
thousand  miles  or  more  of  fertile  plantations.  Three  competing  routes 
to  Texas  have  established  in  Chicago  their  general  freight  and  passenger 
agencies.  Four  or  five  lines  compete  for  all  Pacific  freights  to  a  point  as 
as  far  as  the  interior  of  Nebraska.  Half  a  dozen  or  more  splendid  bridge 
structures  have  been  thrown  across  the  Missouri  and  Mississippi  Rivers  by 
the  railwavs.  The  Chicao-o  and  Northwestern  line  has  become  an  ao-are- 
gation  of  over  two  thousand  miles  of  rail,  and  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
and  St.  Paul  is  its  close  rival  in  extent  and  importance.  The  three  lines 
running  to  Cairo  via  Vincennes  form  a  through  route  for  all  traffic  with 
the  states  to  the  southward.  The  chief  projects  now  under  discussion 
are  the  Chicago  and  Atlantic,  which  is  to  unite  with  lines  now  built  to 
Charleston,  and  the  Chicago  and  Canada  Southern,  which  line  will  con- 
nect with  all  the  various  branches  of  that  Canadian  enterprise.  Our 
latest  new  road  is  the  Chicago  and  Lake  Huron,  formed  of  three  lines, 
and  entering  the  city  from  Valparaiso  on  the  Pittsburgh,  Fort  Wayne 
and  Chicago  track.  The  trunk  lines  being  mainly  in  operation,  the 
progress  made  in  the  way  of  shortening  tracks,  making  air-line  branches, 
and  running  extensions  does  not  show  to  the  advantage  it  deserves,  as 
this  process  is  constantly  adding  new  facilities  to  the  established  order 
of  things.  The  panic  reduced  the  price  of  steel  to  a  point  where  the 
railways  could  hardly  afford  to  use  iron  rails,  and  all  our  northwestern 
lines  report  large  relays  of  Bessemer  track.  The  immense  crops  now 
being  moved  have  given  a  great  rise  to  the  value  of  railway  stocks,  and 
their  transportation  must  result  in  heavy  pecuniary  advantages. 

Few  are  aware  of  the  importance  of  the  wholesale  and  jobbing  trade 
of  Chicago.  One  leading  firm  has  since  the  panic  sold  $24,000,000  of 
dry  goods  in  one  year,  and  they  now  expect  most  confidently  to  add 
seventy  per  cent,  to  the  figures  of  their  last  year's  business.  In  boots 
and  shoes  and  in  clothing,  twenty  or  more  great  firms  from  the  east  have 
placed  here  their  distributing  agents  or  their  factories ;  and  in  groceries 


THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY. 


93 


Chicago  supplies  the  entire  Northwest  at  rates  presenting  advantages 
over  New  York. 

Chicago  has  stepped  in  between  New  York  and  the  rural  banks  as  a 
financial  center,  and  scarcely  a  banking  institution  in  the  grain  or  cattle 
regions  but  keeps  its  reserve  funds  in  the  vaults  of  our  commercial  insti- 
tutions. Accumulating  here  throughout  the  spring  and  summer  months, 
they  are  summoned  home  at  pleasure  to  move  the  products  of  the 
prairies.  This  process  greatly  strengthens  the  northwest  in  its  financial 
operations,  leaving  home  capital  to  supplement  local  operations  on 
behalf  of  home  interests. 

It  is  impossible  to  forecast  the  destiny  of  this  grand  and  growing 
section  of  the  Union.  Figures  and  predictions  made  at  this  date  might 
seem  ten  years  hence  so  ludicrously  small  as  to  excite   only  derision. 


-,£e£'^^ 


HISTORY   OF   THE   NORTHWEST. 


95 


r 

CHICAGO. 

It  is  impossible  in  our  brief  space  to  give  more  than  a  meager  sketch 
of  such  a  city  as  Chicago,  which  is  in  itself  the  greatest  marvel  of  the 
Prairie  State.  This  mysterious,  majestic,  mighty  city,  born  first  of  water, 
and  next  of  fire ;  sown  in  weakness,  and  raised  in  power ;  planted  among 
the  willows  of  the  marsh,  and  crowned  with  the  glory  of  the  mountains  ; 
sleeping  on  the  bosom  of  the  prairie,  and  rocked  on  the  bosom  of  the  sea , 


CHICAGO   IN    lSo'3. 


the  youngest  city  of  the  world,  and  still  the  eye  of  the  prairie,  as  Damas- 
cus, the  oldest  city  of  the  world,  is  the  eye  of  the  desert.  With  a  com- 
merce far  exceeding  that  of  Corinth  on  her  isthmus,  in  the  highway  to 
the  East ;  with  the  defenses  of  a  continent  piled  around  her  by  the  thou- 
sand miles,  making  her  far   safer  than  Rome  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber ; 


96  HISTORY   OF   THE   NORTHWEST. 

with  schools  eclipsing  Alexandria  and  Athens :  with  liberties  more  con- 
spicuous than  those  of  the  old  republics ;  with  a  heroism  equal  to  the  first 
Carthage,  and  with  a  sanctity  scarcely  second  to  that  of  Jerusalem— set 
your  thoughts  on  all  this,  lifted  into  the  eyes  of  all  men  by  the  miracle  of 
its  growth,  illuminated  by  the  flame  of  its  fall,  and  transfigured  by  the 
divinity  of  its  resurrection,  and  you  will  feel,  as  I  do,  the  utter  impossi- 
bility of  compassing  this  subject  as  it  deserves.  Some  impression  of  her 
importance  is  received  from  the  shock  her  burning  gave  to  the  civilized 
world. 

When  the  doubt  of  her  calamity  was  removed,  and  the  horrid  fact 
was  accepted,  there  went  a  shudder  over  all  cities,  and  a  quiver  over  all 
lands.  There  was  scarcely  a  town  in  the  civilized  world  that  did  not 
shake  on  the  brink  of  this  opening  chasm.  The  flames  of  our  homes  red- 
dened all  skies.  The  city  was  set  upon  a  hill,  and  could  not  be  hid.  All 
eyes  were  turned  upon  it.  To  have  struggled  and  suffered  amid  the 
scenes  of  its  fall  is  as  distinguishing  as  to  have  fought  at  Thermopylae,  or 
Salamis,  or  Hastings,  or  Waterloo,  or  Bunker  Hill. 

Its  calamity  amazed  the  world,  because  it  was  felt  to  be  the  common 
property  of  mankind. 

The  early  history  of  the  city  is  full  of  interest,  just  as  the  early  his- 
tory of  such  a  man  as  Washington  or  Lincoln  becomes  public  property, 
and  is  cherished  by  every  patriot. 

Starting  with  560  acres  in  1833,  it  embraced  and  occupied  23,000 
acres  in  1869,  and,  having  now  a  population  of  more  than  500,000,  it  com- 
mands general  attention. 

The  first  settler — Jean  Baptiste  Pointe  au  Sable,  a  mulatto  from  the 
West  Indies — came  and  began  trade  with  the  Indians  in  1796.  John 
Kinzie  became  his  successor  in  1804,  in  which  year  Fort  Dearborn  was 
erected. 

A  mere  trading-post  was  kept  here  from  that  time  till  about  the  time 
of  the  Blackhawk  war,  in  1832.  It  was  not  the  city.  It  was  merely  a 
cock  crowing  at  midnight.  The  morning  was  not  yet.  In  1833  the  set- 
tlement about  the  fort  was  incorporated  as  a  town.  The  voters  were 
divided  on  the  propriety  of  such  corporation,  twelve  voting  for  it;  and  one 
against  it.  Four  years  later  it  was  incorporated  as  a  city,  and  embraced 
560  acres. 

The  produce  handled  in  this  city  is  an  indication  of  its  power.  Grain 
and  flour  were  imported  from  the  East  till  as  late  as  1837.  The  first 
exportation  by  way  of  experiment  was  in  1839.  Exports  exceeded  imports 
first  in  1842.  The  Board  of  Trade  was  organized  in  1848,  but  it  was  so 
weak  that  it  needed  nursing  till  1855.  Grain  was  purchased  by  the 
wagon-load  in  the  street, 

I  remember  sitting  with  my  father  on   a  load  of  wheat,  in  the  long 


HISTORY   OF   THE   NORTHWEST.  9T 

line  of  wagons  along  Lake  street,  while  the  buyers  came  and  untied  the 
bags,  and  examined  the  grain,  and  made  their  bids.  That  manner  of 
business  had  to  cease  with  the  day  of  small  things.  Now  our  elevators 
will  hold  15,000,000  bushels  of  grain.  The  cash  value  of  the  produce 
handled  in  a  year  is  $215,000,000,  and  the  produce  weighs  7,000,000 
tons  or  700,000  car  loads.  This  handles  thirteen  and  a  half  ton  each 
minute,  all  the  year  round.  One  tenth  of  all  the  wheat  in  the  United 
States  is  handled  in  Chicago.  Even  as  long  ago  as  1853  the  receipts  of 
grain  in  Chicago  exceeded  those  of  the  goodly  city  of  St.  Louis,  and  in 
1854  the  exports  of  grain  from  Chicago  exceeded  those  of  New  York  and 
doubled  those  of  St.  Petersburg,  Archangel,  or  Odessa,  the  largest  grata 
markets  in  Europe. 

The  manufacturing  interests  of  the  city  are  not  contemptible.  In 
1873  manufactories  employed  45,000  operatives ;  in  1876,  60,000.  The 
manufactured  product  in  1875  was  worth  $177,000,000. 

No  estimate  of  the  size  and  power  of  Chicago  would  be  adequate 
that  did  not  put  large  emphasis  on  the  railroads.  Before  they  came 
thundering  along  our  streets  canals  were  the  hope  of  our  country.  But 
who  ever  thinks  now  of  traveling  by  canal  packets  ?  In  June,  1852, 
there  were  only  forty  miles  of  railroad  connected  with  the  city.  The 
old  Galena  division  of  the  Northwestern  ran  out  to  Elgin.  But  now, 
who  can  count  the  trains  and  measure  the  roads  that  seek  a  terminus  or 
connection  in  this  city  ?  The  lake  stretches  away  to  the  north,  gathering 
in  to  this  center  all  the  harvests  that  might  otherwise  pass  to  the  north 
of  us.  If  you  will  take  a  map  and  look  at  the  adjustment  of  railroads, 
you  will  see,  first,  that  Chicago  is  the  great  railroad  center  of  the  world, 
as  New  York  is  the  commercial  city  of  this  continent ;  and,  second,  that 
the  railroad  lines  form  the  iron  spokes  of  a  great  wheel  whose  hub  is 
this  city.  The  lake  furnishes  the  only  break  in  the  spokes,  and  this 
seems  simply  to  have  pushed  a  few  spokes  together  on  each  shore.  See 
the  eighteen  trunk  lines,  exclusive  of  eastern  connections. 

Pass  round  the  circle,  and  view  their  nuirbers  and  extent.  There 
is  the  great  Northwestern,  with  all  its  branches,  one  branch  creeping 
along  the  lake  shore,  and  so  reaching  to  the  north,  into  the  Lake  Superior 
regions,  away  to  the  right,  and  on  to  the  Northern  Pacific  on  the  left, 
swinging  around  Green  Bay  for  iron  and  copper  and  silver,  twelve  months 
in  the  year,  and  reaching  out  for  the  wealth  of  the  great  agricultural 
belt  and  isothermal  line  traversed  by  the  Northern  Pacific.  Another 
branch,  not  so  far  north,  feeling  for  the  heart  of  the  Badger  State. 
Another  pushing  lower  down  the  Mississippi — all  these  make  many  con- 
nections, and  tapping  all  the  vast  wheat  regions  of  Minnesota,  Wisconsin, 
Iowa,  and  all  the  regions  this  side  of  sunset.  There  is  that  elegant  road, 
the  Chicago,  Burlington   &  Quincy,  running  out  a  goodly  number  of 


98 


HISTORY    OF   THE    NORTHWEST. 


OLD    FORT    DEARBOKN,    1830. 


PEESENT    SITE    OF    LAKE    STKEET    BlllDGE,    CHICAGO,    1^    1833. 


HISTORY    OF   THE   NORTHWEST.  99 

branches,  and  reaping  the  great  fields  this  side  of  the  Missouri  River. 
I  can  only  mention  the  Chicago,  Alton  &  St.  Louis,  our  Illinois  Central, 
described  elsewhere,  and  the  Chicago  &  Rock  Island.  Further  around 
we  come  to  the  lines  connecting  us  with  all  the  eastern  cities.  The 
Chicago,  Indianapolis  &  St.  Louis,  the  Pittsburgh,  Fort  Wayne  & 
Chicago,  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern,  and  the  Michigan  Cen. 
tral  and  Great  Western,  give  us  many  highways  to  the  seaboard.  Thus  we 
reach  the  Mississippi  at  five  points,  from  St.  Paul  to  Cairo  and  the  Gulf 
itself  by  two  routes.  We  also  reach  Cincinnati  and  Baltimore,  and  Pitts- 
burgh and  Philadelphia,  and  New  York.  North  and  south  run  the  water 
courses  of  the  lakes  and  the  rivers,  broken  just  enough  at  this  point  to 
make  a  pass.  Through  this,  from  east  to  west,  run  the  long  lines  that 
stretch  from  ocean  to  ocean. 

This  is  the  neck  of  the  glass,  and  the  golden  sands  of  commerce 
must  pass  into  our  hands.  Altogether  we  have  more  than  10,000  miles 
of  railroad,  directly  tributary  to  this  city,  seeking  to  unload  their  wealth 
in  our  coffers.  All  these  roads  have  come  themselves  by  the  infallible 
instinct  of  capital.  Not  a  dollar  was  ever  given  by  the  city  to  secure 
one  of  them,  and  only  a  small  per  cent,  of  stock  taken  originally  by  her 
citizens,  and  that  taken  simply  as  an  investment.  Coming  in  the  natural 
order  of  events,  they  will  not  be  easily  diverted. 

There  is  still  another  showing  to  ail  this.  The  connection  between 
New  York  and  San  Francisco  is  by  the  middle  route.  This  passes  inevit- 
ably through  Chicago.  St.  Louis  wants  the  Southern  Pacific  or  Kansas 
Pacific,  and  pushes  it  out  through  Denver,  and  so  on  up  to  Cheyenne. 
But  before  the  road  is  fairly  under  way,  the  Chicago  roads  shove  out  to 
Kansas  City,  making  even  the  Kansas  Pacific  a  feeder,  and  actually  leav- 
ing St.  Louis  out  in  the  cold.  It  is  not  too  much  to  expect  that  Dakota, 
Montana,  and  Washington  Territory  will  find  their  great  market  in  Chi- 
cago. 

But  these  are  not  all.  Perhaps  I  had  better  notice  here  the  ten  or 
fifteen  new  roads  that  have  just  entered,  or  are  just  entering,  our  city. 
Their  names  are  all  that  is  necessary  to  give.  Chicago  &  St.  Paul,  look- 
ing up  the  Red  River  country  to  the  British  possessions ;  the  Chicago, 
Atlantic  &  Pacific  ;  the  Chicago,  Decatur  &  State  Line;  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio;  the  Chicago,  Danville  &  Vincennes;  the  Chicago  &  LaSalle  Rail- 
road ;  the  Chicago,  Pittsburgh  &  Cincinnati ;  the  Chicago  and  Canada 
Southern ;  the  Chicago  and  IlUnois  River  Railroad.  These,  with  their 
connections,  and  with  the  new  connections  of  the  old  roads,  already  in 
process  of  erection,  give  to  Chicago  not  less  than  10,000  miles  of  new 
tributaries  from  the  richest  land  on  the  continent.  Thus  there  will  be 
added  to  the  reserve  power,  to  the  capital  within  reach  of  this  city,  not 
less  than  11,000,000,000. 


100  HISTORY   OF   THE   KORTUWEST. 

Add  to  all  this  transporting  power  the  ships  that  sail  one  every  nine 
minutes  of  the  business  hours  of  the  season  of  navigation ;  add,  also,  the 
canal  boats  that  leave  one  every  five  minutes  during  the  same  time — and 
you  will  see  something  of  the  business  of  the  city. 

THE  Ce^MMERCE  OF  THIS  CITY 

has  been  leaping  along  to  keep  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  country 
around  us.  In  1852,  our  commerce  reached  the  hopeful  sum  of 
820,000,000.  In  1870  it  reached  .-^100,000,000.  In  1871  it  was  pushed 
up  above  8150,000,000.     And  in  1875  it  touched  nearly  double  that. 

One-half  of  our  imported  goods  come  directly  to  Chicago.  Grain 
enough  is  exported  directly  from  oin-  docks  to  the  old  world  to  employ  a 
semi-weekly  line  of  steamers  of  3,000  tons  capacity.  This  branch  is 
not  likely  to  be  greatly  developed.  Even  after  the  great  Welland  Canal 
is  completed  we  shall  have  only  fourteen  feet  of  water.  The  great  ocean 
vessels  will  continue  to  control  the  trade. 

The  banking  capital  of  Chicago  is  821,131,000.  Total  exchange  in 
1875,  8659,000,000.  Her  wholesale  business  in  1875  was  8291,000,000. 
The  rate  of  taxes  is  less  than  in  any  other  great  city. 

The  schools  of  Chicago  are  unsurpassed  in  America.  Out  of  a  popu- 
lation of  300,000  there  were  only  186  persons  between  the  ages  of  six 
and  twenty-one  unable  to  read.     This  is  the  best  known  record. 

In  1881  the  mail  system  was  condensed  into  a  half-breed,  who  went 
on  foot  to  Niles,  Mich.,  once  in  two  weeks,  and  brought  back  what  papers 
and  news  he  could  tind.  As  late  as  1816  there  was  often  only  one  mail 
a  week.  A  post-office  was  established  in  Chicago  in  1833,  and  the  post- 
master nailed  up  old  boot-legs  on  one  side  of  his  shop  to  serve  as  boxes 
for  the  nabobs  and  literary  men. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  in  the  growth  of  the  yoimg  city  that  in  the 
active  life  of  the  business  men  of  that  day  the  mail  matter  has  grown  to 
a  daily  average  of  over  6,500  pounds.  It  speaks  equally  well  for  the 
intelligence  of  the  people  and  the  commercial  importance  of  the  place, 
that  the  mail  matter  distributed  to  the  territory  immediately  tributary  to 
Chicago  is  seven  times  greater  than  that  distributed  to  the  territory 
immediately  tributary  to  St.  Louis. 

The  improvements  that  have  characterized  the  city  are  as  startling 
as  the  city  itself.  In  1831,  ^lark  Beaubien  established  a  ferry  over  the 
river,  and  put  himself  under  bonds  to  carry  all  the  citizens  free  for  the 
privilege  of  charging  strangers.  Now  there  are  twenty-four  large  brido-es 
and  two  tunnels. 

In  1833  the  government  expended  830,000  on  the  harbor.  Then 
commenced  that  series  of  manoeuvers  with  the  river  that  has  made  it  one 


HISTORY   OF   THE    NORTHWEST.  101 

of  the  world's  curiosities.  It  used  to  wind  around  in  tlie  lower  end  of 
the  town,  and  make  its  way  rippling  over  tlie  sand  into  the  lake  at  the 
foot  of  Madison  street.  Tliey  took  it  up  and  put  it  down  where  it  now 
is.  It  was  a  narrow  stream,  so  narrow  that  even  moderately  small  crafts 
had  to  go  up  through  the  willows  and  cat's  tails  to  the  point  near  Lake 
street  bridge,  and  back  up  one  of  the  branches  to  get  room  enough  in 
which  to  turn  around. 

In  1844  the  quagmires  in  the  streets  were  first  pontooned  by  plank 
roads,  which  acted  in  wet  weather  as  public  squirt-guns.  Keeping  you 
out  of  the  mud,  they  compromised  by  squirting  the  mud  over  you.  The 
wooden-block  pavements  came  to  Chicago  in  1857.  In  1840  water  was 
delivered  by  peddlers  in  carts  or  by  hand.  Then  a  twenty-five  horse- 
power engine  pushed  it  through  hollow  or  bored  logs  along  the  streets 
till  1854,  when  it  was  introduced  into  the  houses  by  new  works.  The 
first  fire-engine  was  used  in  1835,  and  the  first  steam  fire-engine  in  1859, 
Gas  was  utilized  for  lighting  the  city  in  1850.  The  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  was  organized  in  1858,  and  horse  railroads  carried  them 
to  their  work  in  1859.  The  museum  was  opened  in  1863.  The  alarm 
telegraph  adopted  in  1864.  The  opera-house  built  in  1865.  The  city 
grew  from  560  acres  in  1833  to  23,000  in  1869.  In  1834,  the  taxes 
amounted  to  $48.90,  and  the  trustees  of  the  town  borrowed  $60  more  for 
opening  and  improving  streets.  In  1835,  the  legislature  authorized  a  loan 
of  $2,000,  and  the  treasurer  and  street  commissioners  resigned  rather  than 
plunge  the  town  into  such  a  gulf. 

Now  the  city  embraces  36  square  miles  of  territory,  and  has  30  miles 
of  water  front,  besides  the  outside  harbor  of  refuge,  of  400  acres,  inclosed 
by  a  crib  sea-wall.  One-third  of  the  city  has  been  raised  up  an  average 
of  eight  feet,  giving  good  pitch  to  the  263  miles  of  sewerage.  The  water 
of  the  city  is  above  all  competition.  It  is  received  through  two  tunnels 
extending  to  a  crib  in  the  lake  two  miles  from  shore.  The  closest  analy- 
sis fails  to  detect  any  impurities,  and,  received  35  feet  below  the  surface, 
it  is  always  clear  and  cold.  The  first  tunnel  is  five  feet  two  inches  in 
diameter  and  two  miles  long,  and  can  deliver  50,000,000  of  gallons  per 
day.  The  second  tunnel  is  seven  feet  in  diameter  and  six  miles  long, 
running  four  miles  under  the  city,  and  can  deliver  100,000,000  of  gal- 
lons per  day.  This  water  is  distributed  through  410  miles  of  water- 
mains. 

The  three  grand  engineering  exploits  of  the  city  are :  First,  lifting 
the  city  up  on  jack-screws,  whole  squares  at  a  time,  without  interrupting 
the  business,  thus  giving  us  good  drainage  ;  second,  running  the  tunnels 
under  the  lake,  giving  us  the  best  water  in  the  world ;  and  third,  the 
turning  the  current  of  the  river  in  its  own  channel,  delivering  us  from  the 
old  abominations,  and  making  decency  possible.     They  redound  about 


102  HISTORY    OF    THE    ^-ORTHWEST. 

eqiiallj  to  the  credit  of  the  engineering,  to  the  energy  of  the  people,  and 
to  the  healtli  of  the  city. 

That  \yliioh  really  constitutes  the  city,  its  indescribable  spirit,  its  soul, 
the  way  it  lights  up  in  every  feature  in  the  hour  of  action,  has  not  been 
touched.  In  meeting  strangers,  one  is  often  surprised  how  some  homely 
women  marry  so  well.  Their  forms  are  bad,  their  gait  uneven  and  awk- 
ward, their  complexion  is  dull,  their  features  are  misshapen  and  mismatch- 
ed, and  when  we  see  them  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  tliem. 
But  when  ouce  they  are  aroused  on  some  subject,  the}'  put  on  new  pro- 
portions. They  light  up  into  great  power.  The  real  person  comes  out 
from  its  unseemh'  ambush,  and  captures  us  at  will.  They  have  power. 
They  have  ability  to  cause  things  to  come  to  pass.  We  no  longer  wonder 
why  they  are  in  such  high  demand.     So  it'is  with  our  city. 

There  is  no  grand  scenery  except  the  two  seas,  one  of  water,  the 
other  of  prairie.  Nevertheless,  there  is  a  spirit  about  it,  a  push,  a  breadth, 
a  power,  that  soon  makes  it  a  place  never  to  be  forsaken.  One  soon 
ceases  to  believe  in  impossibilities.  Balaams  are  the  only  prophets  that  are 
disappointed.  The  bottom  that  has  been  on  the  point  of  falling  out  has 
been  there  so  long  that  it  has  grown  fast.  It  can  not  fall  out.  It  has  all 
the  capital  of  the  world  itching  to  get  inside  the  corporation. 

The  two  great  laws  that  govern  the  growth  and  size  of  cities  are, 
first,  the  amount  of  territory  for  which  they  are  the  distributing  and 
receiving  points  ;  second,  the  number  of  medium  or  moderate  dealers  that 
do  this  distributing.  Monopolists  build  up  themselves,  not  the  cities. 
They  neither  eat,  wear,  nor  live  in  proportion  to  their  business.  Both 
these  laws  help  Chicago. 

The  tide  of  trade  is  eastward — not  up  or  down  the  map,  but  across 
the  map.  The  lake  runs  up  a  wingdam  for  500  miles  to  gather  in  the 
business.  Commerce  can  not  ferry  up  there  for  seven  months  in  the  year, 
and  the  facilities  for  seven  months  can  do  the  work  for  twelve.  Then  the 
great  region  west  of  us  is  nearly  all  good,  productive  land.  Dropping 
south  into  the  trail  of  St.  Louis,  you  fall  into  vast  deserts  and  rocky  dis- 
tricts, useful  in  holding  the  world  together.  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati, 
instead  of  rivaling  and  hurting  Chicago,  are  her  greatest  sureties  of 
dominioD.  They  are  far  enough  away  to  give  sea-room, — farther  oif  than 
Paris  is  from  London, — and  yet  they  are  near  enough  to  prevent  the 
springing  up  of  any  other  great  city  between  them. 

St.  Louis  will  be  helped  by  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi,  but  also 
hurt.  That  will  put  New  Orleans  on  her  feet,  and  with  a  railroad  running 
over  into  Texas  and  so  West,  she  will  tap  the  streams  that  now  crawl  up 
the  Texas  and  ^Missouri  road.  The  current  is  East,  not  North,  and  a  sea- 
port at  New  Orleans  can  not  permanently  help  St.  Louis. 

Chicago  is  in  the  lield  almost  alone,  to  handle  the  wealth  of  one- 


HISTORY    OF   THE   NORTHWEST.  103 

fourth  of  the  territory  of  this  great  republic.  This  strip  of  seacoast 
divides  its  margins  between  Portland,  Boston,  New  York,  Philade'^phia, 
Baltimore  and  Savannah,  or  some  other  great  port  to  be  created  f(  •  the 
South  in  the  next  decade.  ButCliicago  has  a  dozen  empires  casting  their 
treasures  into  her  lap.  On  a  bed  of  coal  that  can  run  all  the  machinery 
of  the  world  for  500  centuries ;  in  a  garden  that  can  feed  the  race  by  the 
thousand  years ;  at  the  head  of  the  lakes  that  give  her  a  temperature  as  a 
summer  resort  equaled  by  no  great  city  in  the  land ;  with  a  climate  that 
insures  the  health  of  her  citizens ;  surrounded  by  all  the  great  deposits 
of  natural  wealth  in  mines  aud  forests  and  herds,  Chicago  is  the  wonder 
of  to-day,  and  will  be  the  city  of  the  future. 

MASSACRE  AT  FORT  DEARBORN. 

During  the  war  of  1812,  Port  Dearborn  became  the  theater  of  stirring 
events.  The  garrison  consisted  of  fifty-four  men  under  command  of 
Captain  Nathan  Heald,  assisted  by  Lieutenant  Helm  (son-in-law  of  Mrs. 
Kinzie)  and  Ensign  Ronan.  Dr.  Voorhees  was  surgeon.  The  only  resi- 
dents at  the  post  at  that  time  were  the  wives  of  Captain  Heald  and  Lieu- 
tenant Helm,  and  a  few  of  the  soldiers,  Mr.  Kinzie  and  his  family,  and 
a  few  Canadian  voyageurs^  with  their  wives  and  children.  The  soldiers 
and  Mr.  Eanzie  were  on  most  friendly  terms  with  the  Pottawattamies 
and  Winnebagos,  the  principal  tribes  around  them,  but  they  could  not 
win  them  from  their  attachment  to  the  British. 

One  evening  in  April,  1812,  Mr.  Kinzie  sat  playing  on  his  violin  and 
his  children  were  dancing  to  the  music,  when  Mrs.  Kinzie  came  rushing 
into  the  house,  pale  with  terror,  and  exclaiming:  "The  Indians!  the 
Indians!"  "What?  Where?"  eagerly  inquired  Mr.  Kinzie.  "Up 
at  Lee's,  killing  and  scalping,"  answered  the  frightened  mother,  who, 
when  the  alarm  was  given,  was  attending  ]\Irs.  Barnes  (just  confined) 
living  not  far  off.  Mr.  Kinzie  and  his  family  crossed  the  river  and  took 
refuge  in  the  fort,  to  which  place  Mrs.  Barnes  and  her  infant  not  a  day 
old  were  safely  conveyed.  The  rest  of  the  inhabitants  took  shelter  in  the 
fort.  This  alarm  was  caused  by  a  scalping  party  of  Winnebagos,  who 
hovered  about  the  fort  several  days,  when  they  disappeared,  and  for  several 
weeks  the  inhabitants  were  undisturbed. 

On  the  7th  of  August,  1812,  General  Hull,  at  Detroit,  sent  orders  to 
Captain  Heald  to  evacuate  Fort  Dearborn,  and  to  distribute  all  the  United 
States  property  to  the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood — a  most  insane  order. 
The  Pottawattamie  chief,  who  brought  the  dispatch,  had  more  wisdom 
than  the  commanding  general.  He  advised  Captain  Heald  not  to  make 
the  distribution.  Said  he  :  "  Leave  the  fort  and  stores  as  they  are,  and 
let  the  Indians  make  distribution  for  themselves;  and  while  they  are 
engaged  in  the  business,  the  white  people  may  escape  to  Fort  Wayne." 


HISTORY    OF   THE   NORTHWEST.  105 

Captain  Heald  held  a  council  with  the  Indians  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  12th,  in  which  his  officers  refused  to  join,  for  they  had  been  informed 
that  treachery  was  designed — ^that  the  Indians  intended  to  murder  the 
white  people  in  the  council,  and  then  destroy  those  in  the  fort.  Captain 
Heald,  however,  took  the  precaution  to  open  a  port-hole  displaying  a 
cannon  pointing  directly  upon  the  council,  and  by  that  means  saved 
his  life. 

Mr.  Kinzie,  who  knew  the  Indians  well,  begged  Captain  Heald  not 
to  confide  in  their  promises,  nor  distribute  the  arms  and  munitions  among 
them,  for  it  would  only  put  power  into  their  hands  to  destroy  the  whites. 
Acting  upon  this  advice,  Heald  resolved  to  withhold  the  munitions  of 
war ;  and  on  the  night  of  the  13th,  after  the  distribution  of  the  other 
property  had  been  made,  the  powder,  ball  and  liquors  were  thrown  into 
the  river,  the  muskets  broken  up  and  destroyed. 

Black  Partridge,  a  friendly  chief,  came  to  Captain  Heald,  and  said : 
"  Linden  birds  have  been  singing  in  my  ears  to-day:  be  careful  on  the 
march  you  are  going  to  take."  On  that  dark  night  vigilant  Indians  had 
crept  near  the  fort  and  discovered  the  destruction  of  their  promised  booty 
going  on  within.  The  next  morning  the  powder  was  seen  floating  on  the 
surface  of  the  river.  The  savages  were  exasperated  and  made  loud  com- 
plaints and  threats. 

On  the  following  day  when  preparations  were  making  to  leave  the 
forfc,  and  all  the  inmates  were  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  impend- 
ing danger,  Capt.  Wells,  an  uncle  of  Mrs.  Heald,  was  discovered  upon 
the  Indian  trail  among  the  sand-hills  on  the  borders  of  the  lake,  not  far 
distant,  with  a  band  of  mounted  Miamis,  of  whose  tribe  he  was  chief, 
having  been  adopted  by  the  famous  Miami  warrior.  Little  Turtle.  When 
news  of  Hull's  surrender  reached  Fort  Wayne,  he  had  started  with  this 
force  to  assist  Heald  in  defending  Fort  Dearborn.  He  was  too  late. 
Every  means  for  its  defense  had  been  destroyed  the  night  before,  and 
arrangements  were  made  for  leaving  the  fort 'on  the  morning  of  the  15th. 

It  was  a  warm  bright  morning  in  the  middle  of  August.  Indications 
were  positive  that  the  savages  intended  to  murder  the  white  people ;  and 
when  they  moved  out  of  the  southern  gate  of  the  fort,  the  march  was 
like  a  funeral  procession.  The  band,  feeling  the  solemnity  of  the  occa- 
sion, struck  up  the  Dead  March  in  Saul. 

Capt.  Wells,  who  had  blackened  his  face  with  gun-powder  in  token 
of  his  fate,  took  the  lead  with  his  band  of  Miamis,  followed  by  Capt. 
Heald,  with  his  wife  by  his  side  on  horseback.  Mr.  Kinzie  hoped  by  his 
personal  influence  to  avert  the  impending  blow,  and  therefore  accompanied 
them,  leaving  his  family  in  a  boat  in  charge  of  a  friendly  Indian,  to  be 
taken  to  his  trading  station  at  the  site  of  Niles,  Michigan,  in  the  event  of 
his  death. 


106 


HISTORY    OF  THE   NORTHWEST. 


HISTORY    OF   THE   NORTHWEST.  107 

The  procession  moved  slowly  along  the  lake  shore  till  they  reached 
the  sand-hills  between  the  prairie  and  the  beach,  when  the  Pottawattamie 
escort,  under  the  leadership  of  Blackbird,  filed  to  the  right,  placing  those 
hills  between  them  and  the  white  people.  Wells,  with  his  Miamis,  had 
kept  in  the  advance.  They  suddenly  came  rushing  back,  Wells  exclaim- 
ing, "  They  are  about  to  attack  us ;  form  instantly."  These  words  were 
quickly  followed  by  a  storm  of  bullets,  which  came  whistling  over  the 
little  hills  which  the  treacherous  savages  had  made  the  covert  for  their 
murderous  attack.  The  white  troops  charged  upon  the  Indians,  drove 
them  back  to  the  prairie,  and  then  the  battle  was  waged  between  fifty- 
fonr  soldiers,  twelve  civilians  and  three  or  four  women  (the  cowardly 
Miamis  having  fled  at  the  outset)  against  five  hundred  Indian  warriors. 
The  white  people,  hopeless,  resolved  to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible. 
Ensign  Ronan  wielded  his  weapon  vigorously,  even  after  falling  upon  his 
knees  weak  from  the  loss  of  blood.  Capt.  Wells,  who  was  by  the  side  of 
his  niece,  Mrs.  Heald,  when  the  conflict  began,  behaved  with  the  greatest 
coolness  and  courage.  He  said  to  her,  "  We  have  not  the  slightest  chance 
for  life.  We  must  part  to  meet  no  more  in  this  world.  God  bless  you." 
And  then  he  dashed  forward.  Seeing  a  young  warrior,  painted  like  a 
demon,  climb  into  a  wagon  in  which  were  twelve  children,  and  tomahawk 
them  all,  he  cried  out,  unmindful  of  his  personal  danger,  "  If  that  is  your 
game,  butchering  women  and  children,  I  will  kill  too."  He  spurred  his 
horse  towards  the  Indian  camp,  where  they  had  left  their  squaws  and 
papooses,  hotly  pursued  by  swift-footed  young  warriors,  who  sent  bullets 
whistling  after  him.  One  of  these  killed  his  horse  and  wounded  him 
severely  in  the  leg.  With  a  yell  the  young  braves  rushed  to  make  him 
their  prisoner  and  reserve  him  for  torture.  He  resolved  not  to  be  made 
a  captive,  and  by  the  use  of  the  most  provoking  epithets  tried  to  induce 
them  to  kill  him  instantly.  He  called  a  fiery  young  chief  a  squaiv,  when 
the  enraged  warrior  killed  Wells  instantly  with  his  tomahawk,  jumped 
upon  his  body,  cut  out  his  heart,  and  ate  a  portion  of  the  warm  morsel 
with  savage  delight ! 

In  this  fearful  combat  women  bore  a  conspicuous  part.  Mrs.  Heald 
was  an  excellent  equestrian  and  an  expert  in  the  use  of  the  rifle.  She 
fought  the  savages  bravely,  receiving  several  severe  wounds.  Though 
faint  from  the  loss  of  blood,  she  managed  to  keep  her  saddle.  A  savage 
raised  his  tomahawk  to  kill  her,  when  she  looked  him  full  in  the  face, 
and  with  a  sweet  smile  and  in  a  gentle  voice  said,  in  his  own  language, 
*' Surely  you  will  not  kill  a  squaw!"  The  arm  of  the  savage  fell,  and 
the  life  of  the  heroic  woman  was  saved. 

Mrs.  Helm,  the  step-daughter  of  Mr.  Kinzie,  had  an  encounter  with 
a  stout  Indian,  who  attempted  to  tomahawk  her.  Springing  to  one  side, 
she  received  the  claucing  blow  on  her  shoulder,  and  at  the  same  instant 


108  HISTORY    OF    THE    NORTHWEST. 

seized  the  savage  round  the  neck  with  her  arms  and  endeavored  to  get 
hold  of  his  scalping  knife,  which  hung  in  a  sheath  at  his  breast.  While 
she  was  thus  struggling  she  was  dragged  from  her  antagonist  by  ano  jhei 
powerful  Indian,  who  bore  her,  in  spite  of  her  struggles,  to  the  margin 
of  the  lake  and  plunged  her  in.  To  her  astonishment  she  was  held  by 
him  so  that  she  would  not  drown,  and  she  soon  perceived  that  she  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  friendly  Black  Partridge,  who  had  saved  her  life. 

The  wife  of  Sergeant  Holt,  a  large  and  powerful  woman,  behaved  as 
bravely  as  an  Amazon.  She  2'ode  a  fine,  high-spirited  horse,  which  the 
Indians  coveted,  and  several  of  them  attacked  her  with  the  butts  of  their 
guns,  for  the  purpose  of  dismounting  her  ;  but  she  used  the  sword  which 
she  had  snatched  from  her  disabled  husband  so  skillfully  that  she  foiled 
them ;  and,  suddenly  wheeling  her  horse,  she  dashed  over  the  prairie, 
followed  by  the  savages  shouting,  "  The  brave  woman  !  the  brave  woman  ! 
Don't  hurt  her  !  "  They  finally  overtook  her,  and  while  she  was  fighting 
them  in  front,  a  powerful  savage  came  up  behind  her,  seized  her  by  the 
neck  and  dragged  her  to  the  ground.  Horse  and  woman  were  made 
captives.  Mrs.  Holt  was  a  long  time  a  captive  among  the  Indians,  but 
was  afterwards  ransomed. 

In  this  sharp  conflict  two-thirds  of  the  white  people  were  slain  and 
wounded,  and  all  their  horses,  baggage  and  provision  were  lost.  Only 
twenty-eight  straggling  men  now  remained  to  fight  five  hundred  Indians 
rendered  furious  by  the  sight  of  blood.  They  succeeded  in  breaking 
through  the  ranks  of  the  murderers  and  gaining  a  slight  eminence  on  the 
prairie  near  the  Oak  Woods.  The  Indians  did  not  pursue,  but  gathered 
on  their  flanks,  while  the  chiefs  held  a  consultation  on  the  sand-hills,  and 
showed  signs  of  willingness  to  parley.  It  would  have  been  madness  on 
the  part  of  the  whites  to  renew  the  fight ;  and  so  Capt.  Heald  went  for- 
ward and  met  Blackbird  on  the  open  prairie,  where  terms  of  surrender 
were  soon  agreed  upon.  It  was  arranged  that  the  white  people  should 
give  up  their  arms  to  Blackbird,  and  that  the  survivors  should  become 
prisoners  of  war,  to  be  exchanged  for  ransoms  as  soon  as  practicable. 
With  this  understanding  captives  and  captors  started  for  the  Indian 
camp  near  the  fort,  to  which  Mrs.  Helm  had  been  taken  bleeding  and 
suffering  hj  Black  Partridge,  and  had  met  her  step-father  and  learned 
that  her  husband  was  safe. 

A  new  scene  of  horror  was  now  opened  at  the  Indian  camp.  The 
wounded,  not  being  included  in  the  terms  of  surrender,  as  it  was  inter- 
preted by  the  Indians,  and  the  British  general,  Proctor,  having  offered  a 
liberal  bounty  for  American  scalps,  delivered  at  Maiden,  nearly  all  the 
wounded  men  were  killed  and  scalped,  and  the  j)rice  of  the  trophies  was 
afterwards  paid  by  the  British  government. 


THE   STATE   OF  IOWA. 


GEOGRAPHICAL  SITUATION. 

The  State  of  Iowa  has  an  outline  figure  nearly  approaching  that  of  a  rec- 
tangular parallelogram,  the  northern  and  southern  boundaries  being  nearly  due 
east  and  west  lines,  and  its  eastern  and  western  boundaries  determined  by 
southerly  flowing  rivers — the  Mississippi  on  the  east,  and  the  Missouri,  together 
with  its  tributary,  the  Big  Sioux,  on  the  west.  The  northern  boundary  is  upon 
the  parallel  of  forty-three  degrees  thirty  minutes,  and  the  southern  is  approxi- 
mately upon  that  of  forty  degrees  and  thirty-six  minutes.  The  distance  from 
the  northern  to  the  southern  boundary,  excluding  the  small  prominent  angle  at 
the  southeast  corner,  is  a  little  more  than  two  hundred  miles.  Owing  to  the 
irregularity  of  the  river  boundaries,  however,  the  number  of  square  miles  does 
not  reach  that  of  the  multiple  of  these  numbers ;  but  according  to  a  report  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  the  United  States  Senate,  March  12,  1863, 
the  State  of  Iowa  contains  35,228,200  acres,  or  55,014  square  miles.  When  it 
is  understood  that  all  this  vast  extent  of  surface,  except  that  which  is  occupied 
by  our  rivers,  lakes  and  peat  beds  of  the  northern  counties,  is  susceptible  of  the 
highest  cultivation,  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  immense  agricultural 
resources  of  the  State.  Iowa  is  nearly  as  large  as  England,  and  twice  as  large 
as  Scotland ;  but  when  Ave  consider  the  relative  area  of  surface  which  may  be 
made  to  yield  to  the  wants  of  man,  those  countries  of  the  Old  World  will  bear 
no  comparison  with  Iowa. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

No  complete  topographical  survey  of  the  State  of  Iowa  has  yet  been  made. 
Therefore  all  the  knowledge  we  have  yet  upon  the  subject  has  been  obtained 
from  incidental  observations  of  geological  corps,  from  barometrical  observations 
by  authority  of  the  General  Government,  and  levelings  done  by  railroad  en- 
gineer corps  within  the  State. 

Taking  into  view  the  facts  that  the  highest  point  in  the  State  is  but  a  little 
more  than  twelve  hundred  feet  above  the  lowest  point,  that  these  two  points  are 
nearly  three  hundred  miles  apart,  and  that  the  whole  State  is  traversed  by 

109 


110  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

gently  flowing  rivers,  it  will  be  seen  that  in  reality  the  State  of  Iowa  rests 
wholly  within,  and  comprises  a  part  of,  a  vast  plain ;  with  no  mountain  or  hill 
rano;es  within  its  borders. 

A  clearer  idea  of  the  great  uniformity  of  the  surface  of  the  State  may  be 
obtained  from  a  statement  of  the  general  slopes  in  feet  per  mile,  from  point  to 
point,  in  straight  lines  across  it : 

From  the  N.  E.  corner  to  the  S.  E.  corner  of  the  State 1  foot  1  inch  per  mile. 

From  the  N.  E.  corner  to  Spirit  Lake 5  feet  5  inches  per  mile. 

From  the  N.  W.  corner  to  Spirit  Lake..... 5  feetO  inches  per  mile. 

From  the  N.  W.  corner  to  the  S.  W.  corner  of  the  State 2  feet  0  inches  per  mile. 

From  the  S.  W.  corner  to  the  highest  ridge  between  the  two 

great  rivers  (in  Ringgold  County) 4  feet  1  inch  per  mile 

From  the  dividing  ridge  in  the  S.  E.  corner  of  the  State 5  feet  7  inches  per  mile. 

From  the  highest  point  in  the  State  (near  Spirit  Lake)  to  the 
lowest  point  in  the  State  (at  the  mouth  of  Des  Moines 
River) 4  feet  0  inches  per  mile. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  there  is  a  good  degree  of  propriety  in  regard- 
ing the  whole  State  as  a  part  of  a  great  plain,  the  lowest  point  of  which  within 
its  borders,  the  southeast  corner  of  the  State,  is  only  444  feet  above  the  level  of^ 
the  sea.  The  average  height  of  the  whole  State  above  the  level  of  the  sea  is 
not  far  from  eight  hundred  feet,  although  it  is  more  than  a  thousand  miles 
inland  from  the  nearest  sea  coast.  These  remarks  are,  of  course,  to  be  under- 
stood as  applying  to  the  surface  of  the  State  as  a  whole.  When  we  come  to 
consider  its  surface  feature  in  detail,  we  find  a  great  diversity  of  surface  by  the 
formation  of  valleys  out  of  the  general  level,  which  have  been  evolved  by  the 
action  of  streams  during  the  unnumbered  years  of  the  terrace  epoch. 

It  is  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  State  that  the  river  valleys  are  deepest ; 
consequently  the  country  there  has  the  greatest  diversity  of  surface,  and  its 
physical  features  are  most  strongly  marked. 

DRAINAGE   SYSTEM. 

The  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Rivers  form  the  eastern  and  western  bounda- 
ries of  the  State,  and  receive  the  eastern  and  western  drainage  of  it. 

The  eastern  drainage  system  comprises  not  far  from  two-thirds  of  the  en- 
tire surface  of  the  State.  The  great  watershed  which  divides  these  two  systems 
is  formed  by  the  highest  land  between  those  rivers  along  the  whole  length  of  a 
line  running  southward  from,  a  point  on  the  northern  boundary  line  of  the  State 
near  Spirit  Lake,  in  Dickinson  County,  to  a  nearly  central  point  in  the  northern 
part  of  Adair  County. 

From  the  last  named  point,  this  highest  ridge  of  land,  between  the  two  great 
rivers,  continues  southward,  without  change  of  character,  through  Ringgold 
County  into  the  State  of  Missouri ;  but  southward  from  that  point,  in  Adair 
County,  it  is  no  longer  the  great  watershed.  From  that  point,  another  and 
lower  ridge  bears  off  more  nearly  southeastward,  through  the  counties  of  Madi- 
Son,  Clarke,  Lucas  and  App;moose,  and  becomes  itself  the  great  watershed. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  Ill 

RIVERS. 

All  streams  that  rise  in  Iowa  rise  upon  the  incoherent  surface  deposits, 
occupying  at  first  only  slight  depressions  in  the  surface,  and  scarcely  percept- 
ible.    These  successively  coalesce  to  form  the  streams. 

The  drift  and  bluff  deposits  are  both  so  thick  in  Iowa  that  its  streams  not 
only  rise  upon  their  surface,  but  they  also  reach  considerable  depth  into  these 
deposits  alone,  in  some  cases  to  a  depth  of  nearly  two  hundred  feet  from  the 
general  prairie  level. 

The  majority  of  streams  that  constitute  the  western  system  of  Iowa  drainage 
run,  either  along  the  whole  or  a  part  of  their  course,  upon  that  peculir  deposit 
known  as  bluff  deposit.  Their  banks  are  often,  even  of  the  small  streams, 
from  five  to  ten  feet  in  height,  quite  perpendicular,  so  that  they  make  the 
streams  almost  everywhere  unfordable,  and  a  great  impediment  to  travel  across 
the  open  country  where  there  are  no  bridges. 

The  material  of  this  deposit  is  of  a  slightly  yellowish  ash  color,  except 
where  darkened  by  decaying  vegetation,  very  fine  and  silicious,  but  not  sandy, 
not  very  cohesive,  and  not  at  all  plastic.  It  forms  excellent  soil,  and  does  not 
bake  or  crack  in  drying,  except  limy  concretions,  which  are  generally  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  mass,  in  shape  and  size  resembling  pebbles ;  not  a 
stone  or  pebble  can  be  found  in  the  whole  deposit.  It  was  called  "  silicious 
marl"  by  Dr.  Owen,  in  his  geological  report  to  the  General  Government,  and 
its  origin  referred  to  an  accumulation  of  sediment  in  an  ancient  lake,  which 
was  afterward  drained,  when  its  sediment  became  dry  land.  Prof  Swallaw 
gives  it  the  name  of  "bluff,"  which  is  here  adopted;  the  term  Lacustral  would 
have  been  better.  The  peculiar  properties  of  this  deposit  are  that  it  will  stand 
securely  with  a  precipitous  front  two  hundred  feet  high,  and  yet  is  easily 
excavated  with  a  spade.  Wells  dug  in  it  require  only  to  be  walled  to  a  point  just 
above  the  water  line.  Yet,  compact  as  it  is,  it  is  very  porous,  so  that  water 
which  falls  on  its  surface  does  not  remain,  but  percolates  through  it ;  neither 
does  it  accumulate  within  its  mass,  as  it  does  upon  the  surface  of  and  within 
the  drift  and  the  stratified  formations. 

The  bluff  deposit  is  known  to  occupy  a  region  through  which  the  Missouri 
runs  almost  centrally,  and  measures,  as  far  as  is  known,  more  than  two  hun- 
dred miles  in  length  and  nearly  one  hundred  miles  in  width.  The  thickest 
part  yet  known  in  Iowa  is  in  Fremont  County,  where  it  reaches  two  hundred 
feet.  The  boundaries  of  this  deposit  in  Iowa  are  nearly  as  follows :  Com- 
mencing at  the  southeast  corner  of  Fremont  County,  follow  up  the  watershed 
between  the  East  Nishnabotany  and  the  West  Tarkio  Rivers  to  the  southern 
boundary  of  Cass  County ;  thence  to  the  center  of  Audubon  County ;  thence 
to  Tip  Top  Station,  on  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railway ;  thence  by  a 
broad  curve  westward  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Plymouth  County. 

This  deposit  is  composed  of  fine  sedimentary  particles,  similar  to  that 
which  the  Missouri  River  now  deposits  from  its  waters,  and  is  the  same  which 


112  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

that  river  did  deposit  in  a  broad  depression  in  the  surface  of  the  drift  that 
formed  a  lake-like  expansion  of  that  river  in  the  earliest  period  of  the  history 
of  its  valley.  That  lake,  as  shown  by  its  deposit,  which  now  remains,  was 
about  one  hundred  miles  wide  and  more  than  twice  as  long.  The  water  of  the 
river  was  muddy  then,  as  now,  and  the  broad  lake  became  filled  with  the  sedi- 
ment which  the  river  brought  down,  before  its  valley  had  enough  in  the  lower 
portion  of  its  course  to  drain  it.  After  the  lake  became  filled  with  the  sedi- 
ment, the  valley  below  became  deepened  by  the  constant  erosive  action  of  the 
waters,  to  a  depth  of  more  than  sufiicient  to  have  drained  the  lake  of  its  first 
waters ;  but  the  only  effect  then  was  to  cause  it  to  cut  its  valley  out  of  the  de- 
posits its  own  muddy  waters  had  formed.  Thus  along  the  valley  of  that  river, 
so  far  as  it  forms  the  western  boundary  of  Iowa,  the  bluffs  which  border  it  are 
composed  of  that  sediment  known  as  bluff  deposit,  forming  a  distinct  border 
along  the  broad,  level  flood  plain,  the  width  of  which  varies  from  five  to  fifteen 
miles,  while  the  original  sedimentary  deposit  stretches  far  inland. 

All  the  rivers  of  the  western  system  of  drainage,  except  the  Missouri  itself, 
are  quite  incomplete  as  rivers,  in  consequence  of  their  being  really  only 
branches  of  other  larger  tributaries  of  that  great  river ,  or,  if  they  empty  into 
the  Missouri  direct,  they  have  yet  all  the  usual  characteristics  of  Iowa  rivers, 
from  their  sources  to  their  mouths. 

Chariton  and  Qrand  Rivers  both  rise  and  run  for  the  first  twenty-five  miles 
of  their  courses  upon  the  drift  deposit  alone.  The  first  strata  that  are  exposed 
by  the  deepening  valleys  of  both  these  streams  belong  to  the  upper  coal  meas- 
ures, and  they  both  continue  upon  the  same  formation  until  they  make  their 
exit  from  the  State  (the  former  in  Appanoose  County,  the  latter  in  Ringgold 
County),  near  the  boundary  of  which  they  have  passed  nearly  or  quite  through 
the  whole  of  that  formation  to  the  middle  coal  measures.  Their  valleys  gradu- 
ally deepen  from  their  upper  portions  downward,  so  that  within  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  they  have  reached  a  depth  of  near  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  below  the  gen- 
eral level  of  the  adjacent  high  land.  When  the  rivers  have  cut  their  valleys 
down  through  the  series  of  limestone  strata,  they  reach  those  of  a  clayey  com- 
position. Upon  these  they  widen  their  valleys  and  make  broad  flood  plains 
(commonly  termed  "bottoms  "),  the  soil  of  which  is  stiff  and  clayey,  except 
where  modified  by  sandy  washings. 

A  considerable  breadth  of  woodland  occupies  the  bottoms  and  valley  sides 
along  a  great  part  of  their  length  ;  but  their  upper  branches  and  tributaries  are 
mostly  prairie  streams. 

Platte  River. — This  river  belongs  mainly  to  Missouri.  Its  upper  branches 
pass  through  Hinggold  County,  and,  with  the  west  fork  of  the  Grand  River, 
drain  a  large  region  of  country. 

Here  the  drift  deposit  reaches  its  maximum  thickness  on  an  east  and  west 
line  across  the  State,  and  the  valleys  are  eroded  in  some  instances  to  a  depth  of 
two  hundred  feet,  apparently,  through  this  deposit  alone. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  11^ 

The  term  "  drift  deposit "  applies  to  the  soil  and  sub-soil  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  State,  and  in  it  alone  many  of  our  wells  are  dug  and  our  forests  take 
root.  It  rests  upon  the  stratified  rocks.  It  is  composed  of  clay,  sand,  gravel 
aud  boulders,  promiscuously  intermixed,  without  stratification,  varying  in  char- 
acter in  different  parts  of  the  State. 

The  proportion  of  lime  in  the  drift  of  Iowa  is  so  great  that  the  water  of  all 
our  wells  and  springs  is  too  ''  hard  "  for  washing  purposes  ;  and  the  same  sub- 
stance is  so  prevalent  in  the  drift  clays  that  they  are  always  found  to  have  suffi- 
cient flux  when  used  for  the  manufacture  of  brick. 

One  Rundred  and  Two  River  is  represented  in  Taylor  County,  the  valleys 
of  which  have  the  same  general  character  of  those  just  described.  The  country 
around  and  between  the  east  and  west  forks  of  this  stream  is  almost  entirely 
prairie. 

JSfodaivay  River. — This  stream  is  represented  by  east,  middle  and  west 
branches.  The  two  former  rise  in  Adair  County,  the  latter  in  Cass  County. 
These  rivers  and  valleys  are  fine  examples  of  the  small  rivers  and  valleys  of 
Southern  Iowa.  They  have  the  general  character  of  drift  valleys,  and  with 
beautiful  undulating  and  sloping  sides.  The  Nodaways  drain  one  of  the  finest 
agricultural  regions  in  the  State,  the  soil  of  which  is  tillable  almost  to  their  very 
banks.  The  banks  and  the  adjacent  narrow  flood  plains  are  almost  everywhere 
composed  of  a  rich,  deep,  dark  loam. 

Nislinahotany  River. — This  river  is  represented  by  east  and  west  branches, 
the  former  having  its  source  in  Anderson  County,  the  latter  in  Shelby  County. 
Both  these  branches,  from  their  source  to  their  confluence — and  also  the  main 
stream,  from  thence  to  the  point  where  it  enters  the  great  flood  plain  of  the 
Missouri — run  through  a  region  the  surface  of  which  is  occupied  by  the  bluff 
deposit.  The  West  Nishnabotany  is  probably  without  any  valuable  mill  sites. 
In  the  western  part  of  Cass  County,  the  East  Nishnabotany  loses  its  identity 
by  becoming  abruptly  divided  up  into  five  or  six  different  creeks.  A  few 
good  mill  sites  occur  here  on  this  stream.  None,  however,  that  are  thought 
reliable  exist  on  either  of  these  rivers,  or  on  the  main  stream  below  the 
confluence,  except,  perhaps,  one  or  two  in  Montgomery  County.  The 
valleys  of  the  two  branches,  and  the  intervening  upland,  possess  remarkable 
fertility. 

Boyer  River. — Until  it  enters  the  flood  plain  of  the  Missouri,  the  Boyer 
runs  almost,  if  not  quite,  its  entire  course  through  the  region  occupied  by  the 
bluff  deposit,  and  has  cut  its  valley  entirely  through  it  along  most  of  its  pas- 
sage. The  only  rocks  exposed  are  the  upper  coal  measures,  near  Reed's  mill,  in 
Harrison  County.  The  exposures  are  slight,  and  are  the  most  northerly  now 
known  in  Iowa.  The  valley  of  this  river  has  usually  gently  sloping  sides,  and  an 
ndistinctly  defined  flood  plain.  Along  the  lower  half  of  its  course  the  adjacent 
upland  presents  a  surface  of  the  billowy  character,  peculiar  to  the  bluff  deposit. 
The  source  of  this  river  is  in  Sac  County. 


114  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

Soldier  Mivci'. — The  east  and  middle  brandies  of  this  stream  have  their 
source  in  Crawford  County,  and  the  west  branch  in  Ida  County.  The  whole 
course  of  this  river  is  through  the  bluff  deposit.  It  has  no  exposure  of  strata 
along  its  course. 

Little  Sioux  Biver. — Under  this  head  are  included  both  the  main  and  west 
l)ranches  of  that  stream,  together  with  the  Maple,  which  is  one  of  its  branches. 
The  west  branch  and  the  Maple  are  so  similar  to  the  Soldier  River  that  they 
need  no  separate  description.  The  main  stream  has  its  boundary  near  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  State,  and  runs  most  of  its  course  upon  drift  deposit 
alone,  entering  the  region  of  the  bluff  deposit  in  the  southern  part  of  Cherokee 
County.  The  two  principal  upper  branches,  near  their  source  in  Dickinson 
and  Osceola  .Counties,  are  small  prairie  creeks,  with  indistinct  valleys.  On 
entering  Clay  County,  the  valley  deepens,  and  at  their  confluence  has  a  depth 
of  one  hundred  feet,  which  still  further  increases  until  along  the  boundary  line 
laetween  Clay  and  Buena  Vista  Counties,  it  reaches  a  depth  of  two  hundred 
feet.  Just  as  the  valley  enters  Cherokee  County,  it  turns  to  the  southward  and 
becomes  much  widened,  with  its  sides  gently  sloping  to  the  uplands.  When  the 
valley  enters  the  region  of  the  bluff  deposit,  it  assumes  the  billowy  appearance. 
ITo  exposures  of  strata  of  any  kind  have  been  found  in  the  valley  of  the  Little 
Sioux  or  any  of  its  branches. 

FJoijd  Bivcr. — This  river  rises  upon  the  drift  in  O'Brien  County,  and  flow- 
ino-  southward  enters  the  region  of  the  bluff  deposit  a  little  north  of  the  center 
of  Plymouth  County.  Almost  from  its  source  to  its  mouth  it  is  a  prairie  stream, 
with  slightly  sloping  valley  sides,  which  blend  gradually  with  the  uplands.  A 
single  slight  exposure  of  sandstone  of  cretaceous  age  occurs  in  the  valley  near 
Sioux  City,  and  which  is  the  only  known  exposure  of  rock  of  any  kind  along 
its  whole  length.  Near  this  exposure  is  a  mill  site,  but  farther  up  the  stream 
it  is  not  valuable  for  such  purposes. 

Roch  River. — This  stream  passes  through  Lyon  and  Sioux  Counties.  It 
was  evidently  so  named  from  the  fact  that  considerable  exposures  of  the  red 
Sioux  quartzite  occur  along  the  main  branches  of  the  stream  in  Minnesota,  a 
few  miles  north  of  our  State  boundary.  Within  this  State  the  main  stream  and 
its  branches  are  drift  streams,  and  strata  are  exposed.  The  beds  and  banks  of 
the  streams  are  usually  sandy  and  gravelly,  with  occasional  boulders  intermixed. 

Big  Sioux  Bivcr. — The  valley  of  this  river,  from  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  State  to  its  mouth,  possesses  much  the  same  character  as  all  the  streams  of 
the  surface  deposits.  At  Sioux  Falls,  a  few  miles  above  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  State,  the  stream  meets  with  remarkable  obstructions  from  the  presence 
of  Sioux  quartzite,  which  outcrops  directly  across  the  stream,  and  causes  a  fall 
of  about  sixty  feet  within  a  distance  of  half  a  mile,  producing  a  series  of  cas- 
cades. For  the  first  twenty-five  miles  above  its  mouth,  the  valley  is  very  broad, 
with  a  broad,  flat  flood  plain,  with  gentle  slopes  occasionally  showing  indistinctly 
defined  terraces.     These  terraces  and  valley  bottoms  constitute  some  of  the  finest 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  115 

agricultural  land  of  the  region.  On  the  Iowa  side  of  the  valley  the  upland 
presents  abrupt  bluffs,  steep  as  the  materials  of  which  they  are  composed  will 
stand,  and  from  one  hundred  to  nearly  two  hundred  feet  high  above  the  stream. 
At  rare  intervals,  about  fifteen  miles  from  its  mouth,  the  cretaceous  strata  are 
found  exposed  in  the  face  of  the  bluffs  of  the  Iowa  side.  No  other  strata  are 
exposed  along  that  part  of  the  valley  which  borders  our  State,  with  the  single 
exception  of  Sioux  quartzite  at  its  extreme  northwestern  corner.  Some  good  mill 
sites  may  be  secured  along  that  portion  of  this  river  which  borders  Lyon  County, 
but  below  this  the  fall  will  probably  be  found  insufficient  and  the  location  for 
dams  insecure. 

Missouri  River. — This  is  one  of  the  muddiest  streams  on  the  globe,  and  its 
waters  are  known  to  be  very  turbid  far  toward  its  source.  The  chief  pecul- 
iarity of  this  river  is  its  broad  flood  plains,  and  its  adjacent  bluff"  deposits. 
Much  the  greater  part  of  the  flood  plain  of  this  river  is  upon  the  Iowa  side,  and 
continuous  from  the  south  boundary  line  of  the  State  to  Sioux  City,  a  distance 
of  more  than  one  hundred  miles  in  length,  varying  from  three  to  five  miles  in 
width.  This  alluvial  plain  is  estimated  to  contain  more  than  half  a  million  acres 
of  land  within  the  State,  upward  of  four  hundred  thousand  of  which  are  now 
tillable. 

The  rivers  of  the  eastern  system  of  drainage  have  quite  a  different  character 
from  those  of  the  western,  system.  They  are  larger,  longer  and  have  their  val- 
leys modified  to  a  much  greater  extent  by  the  underlying  strata.  For  the  lat- 
ter reason,  water-power  is  much  more  abundant  upon  them  than  upon  the 
streams  of  the  western  system. 

Des  Moines  River. — This  river  has  its  source  in  Minnesota,  but  it  enters 
Iowa  before  it  has  attained  any  size,  and  flows  almost  centrally  through  it  from 
northwest  to  southeast,  emptying  into  the  Mississippi  at  the  extreme  southeast- 
ern corner  of  the  State.  It  drains  a  greater  area  than  any  river  within  the 
State.  The  upper  portion  of  it  is  divided  into  two  branches  known  as  the  east 
and  west  forks.  These  unite  in  Humboldt  County.  The  valleys  of  these 
branches  above  their  confluence  are  drift- valleys,  except  a  few  small  exposures 
of  subcarboniferous  limestone  about  five  miles  above  their  confluence.  These 
exposures  produce  several  small  mill-sites.  The  valleys  vary  from  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  to  half  a  mile  in  width,  and  are  the  finest  agricultural  lands.  In  the 
northern  part  of  Webster  County,  the  character  of  the  main  valley  is  modified 
by  the  presence  of  ledges  and  low  cliffs  of  the  subcarboniferous  limestone  and 
gypsum.  From  a  point  a  little  below  Fort  Dodge  to  near  Amsterdam,  in  Ma- 
rion County,  the  river  runs  all  the  way  through  and  upon  the  lower  coal-meas- 
ure strata.  Along  this  part  of  its  course  the  flood-plain  varies  from  an  eighth 
to  half  a  mile  or  more  in  width.  From  Amsterdam  to  Ottumwa  the  subcarbon- 
iferous limestone  appears  at  intervals  in  the  valley  sides.  Near  Ottumwa,  the  sub- 
carboniferous rocks  pass  beneath  the  river  again,  bringing  down  the  coal-measure 
strata  into  its  bed  ;  but  they  rise  again  from  it  in  the  extreme  northwestern  part 


116  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

of  Van  Buren  County,  and  subcarboniferous  strata  resume  and  keep  their  place 
along  the  valley  to  the  north  of  the  river.  From  Fort  Dodge  to  the  northern 
part  of  Lee  County,  the  strata  of  the  lower  coal  measures  are  present  in  the 
valley.  Its  flood  plain  is  frequently  sandy,  from  the  debris  of  the  sandstone 
and  sandy  shales  of  the  coal  measures  produced  by  their  removal  in  the  process 
of  the  formation  of  the  valley. 

The  principal  tributaries  of  the  Des  Moines  are  upon  the  western  side. 
These  are  the  Raccoon  and  the  three  rivers,  viz.:  South,  Middle  and  North  Riv- 
ers. The  three  latter  have  their  source  in  the  region  occupied  by  the  upper 
coal-measure  limestone  formation,  flow  eastward  over  the  middle  coal  measures, 
and  enter  the  valley  of  the  Des  Moines  upon  the  lower  coal  measures.  These 
streams,  especially  South  and  Middle  Rivers,  are  frequently  bordered  by  high, 
rocky  cliffs.  Raccoon  River  has  its  source  upon  the  heavy  surface  deposits  of 
the  middle  region  of  Western  Iowa,  and  along  the  greater  part  of  its  course  it 
has  excavated  its  valley  out  those  deposits  and  the  middle  coal  measures  alone. 
The  valley  of  the  Des  Moines  and  its  branches  are  destined  to  become  the  seat 
of  extensive  manufactures  in  consequence  of  the  numerous  mill  sites  of  immense 
power,  and  the  fact  that  the  main  valley  traverses  the  entire  length  of  the  Iowa 
coal  fields. 

Skunk  River. — This  river  has  its  source  in  Hamilton  County,  and  runs 
almost  its  entire  course  upon  the  border  of  the  outcrop  of  the  lower  coal  meas- 
ures, or,  more  properly  speaking,  upon  the  subcarboniferous  limestone,  just  where 
it  begins  to  pass  beneath  the  coal  measures  by  its  southerly  and  westerly  dip. 
Its  general  course  is  southeast.  From  the  western  part  of  Henry  County,  up 
as  far  as  Story  County,  the  broad,  flat  flood  plain  is  covered  with  a  rich  deep 
clay  soil,  which,  in  time  of  long- continued  rains  and  overflows  of  the  river,  has 
made  the  valley  of  Skunk  River  a  terror  to  travelers  from  the  earliest  settle- 
ment of  the  country.  There  are  some  excellent  mill  sites  on  the  lower  half  of 
this  river,  but  they  are  not  so  numerous  or  valuable  as  on  other  rivers  of  the 
eastern  system. 

Iowa  River. — This  river  rises  in  Hancock  County,  in  the  midst  of  a  broad, 
slightly  undulating  drift  region.  The  first  rock  exposure  is  that  of  subcarbon- 
iferous limestone,  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  Franklin  County.  It  enters 
the  region  of  the  Devonian  strata  near  the  southwestern  corner  of  Benton 
County,  and  in  this  it  continues  to  its  confluence  with  the  Cedar  in  Louisa 
County.  Below  the  junction  with  the  Cedar,  and  for  some  miles  above  that 
point,  its  valley  is  broad,  and  especially  on  the  northern  side,  with  a  well 
marked  flood  plain.  Its  borders  gradually  blend  with  the  uplands  as  they  slope 
away  in  the  distance  from  the  river.  The  Iowa  furnishes  numerous  and  valua- 
ble mill  sites. 

Cedar  River. — This  stream  is  usually  understood  to  be  a  branch  of  the 
Iowa,  but  it  ought,  really,  to  be  regarded  as  the  main  stream.  It  rises  by 
numerous  branches  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  and  flows  the  entire  length 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  117 

of  the  State,  through  the  region  occupied  hj  the  Devonian  strata  and  along  the 
trend  occupied  by  that  formation. 

The  valley  of  this  river,  in  the  upper  part  of  its  course,  is  narrow,  and  the 
sides  slope  so  gently  as  to  scarcely  show  where  the  lowlands  end  and  the  up- 
lands begin.  Below  the  confluence  with  the  Shell  Rock,  the  flood  plain  is  more 
distinctly  marked  and  the  valley  broad  and  shallow.  The  valley  of  the  Cedar 
is  one  of  the  finest  regions  in  the  State,  and  both  the  main  stream  and  its 
branches  afford  abundant  and  reliable  mill  sites. 

Wapsipinnicon  River. — This  river  has  its  source  near  the  source  of  the 
Cedar,  and  runs  parallel  and  near  it  almost  its  entire  course,  the  upper  half 
upon  the  same  formation — the  Devonian.  In  the  northeastern  part  of  Linn 
County,  it  enters  the  region  of  the  Niagara  limestone,  upon  which  it  continues 
to  the  Mississippi.  It  is  one  hundred  miles  long,  and  yet  the  area  of  its  drain- 
age is  only  from  twelve  to  twenty  miles  in  width.  Hence,  its  numerous  mill 
sites  are  unusually  secure. 

Turkey  River. — This  river  and  the  Upper  Iowa  are,  in  many  respects,  un- 
like other  Iowa  rivers.  The  difference  is  due  to  the  great  depth  they  have 
eroded  their  valleys  and  the  different  character  of  the  material  through  which 
they  have  eroded.  Turkey  River  rises  in  Howard  County,  and  in  Winnesheik 
County,  a  few  miles  from  its  source,  its  valley  has  attained  a  depth  of  more  than 
two  hundred  feet,  and  in  Fayette  and  Clayton  Counties  its  depth  is  increased  to 
three  and  four  hundred  feet.  The  summit  of  the  uplands,  bordering  nearly  the 
whole  length  of  the  valley,  is  capped  by  the  Maquoketa  shales.  These  shales 
are  underlaid  by  the  Galena  limestone,  between  two  and  three  hundred  feet 
thick.  The  valley  has  been  eroded  through  these,  and  runs  upon  the  Trenton 
limestone.  Thus,  all  the  formations  along  and  within  this  valley  are  Lower 
Silurian.  The  valley  is  usually  narrow,  and  without  a  well-marked  flood  plain. 
Water  power  is  abundant,  but  in  most  places  inaccessible. 

Upper  Iowa  River. — This  river  rises  in  Minnesota,  just  beyond  the  north- 
ern boundary  line,  and  enters  our  State  in  Howard  County  before  it  has  attained 
any  considerable  size.  Its  course  is  nearly  eastward  until  it  reaches  the  Mis- 
sissippi. It  rises  in  the  region  of  the  Devonian  rocks,  and  flows  across  the  out- 
crops, respectively,  of  the  Niagara,  Galena  and  Trenton  limestone,  the  lower 
magnesian  limestone  and  Potsdam  sandstone,  into  and  through  all  of  which, 
except  the  last,  it  has  cut  its  valley,  which  is  the  deepest  of  any  in  Iowa.  The 
valley  sides  are,  almost  everywhere,  high  and  steep,  and  cliffs  of  lower  magne- 
sian and  Trenton  limestone  give  them  a  wild  and  rugged  aspect.  In  the  lower 
part  of  the  valley,  the  flood  plain  reaches  a  width  sufficient  for  the  location  of 
small  farms,  but  usually  it  is  too  narrow  for  such>purposes.  On  the  higher 
surface,  however,  as  soon  as  you  leave  the  valley  you  come  immediately  upon  a 
cultivated  country.  This  stream  has  the  greatest  slope  per  mile  of  any  in  Iowa, 
consequently  it  furnishes  immense  water  power.  In  some  places,  where  creeks 
come  into  it,  the  valley  widens  and  affords  good  locations  for  farms.     The  town 


118  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

of  Becorali,  in  Winnesheik  County,  is  located  in  one  of  these  spots,  which 
makes  it  a  lovelj  location ;  and  the  power  of  the  river  and  the  small  spring 
streams  around  it  offer  fine  facilities  for  manufacturing.  This  river  and  its 
tributaries  are  the  only  trout  streams  in  Iowa. 

Mississippi  River. — This  river  may  be  described,  in  general  terms,  as  a  broad 
canal  cut  out  of  the  general  level  of  the  country  through  which  the  river  flows. 
It  is  bordered  by  abrupt  hills  or  bluffs.  The  bottom  of  the  valley  ranges  from 
one  to  eight  miles  in  width.  The  whole  space  between  the  bluffs  is  occupied  by 
the  river  and  its  bottom,  or  flood  plain  only,  if  we  except  the  occasional  terraces 
or  remains  of  ancient  flood  plains,  which  are  not  now  reached  by  the  highest 
floods  of  the  river.  The  river  itself  is  from  half  a  mile  to  nearly  a  mile  in 
width.  There  are  but  four  points  along  the  whole  length  of  the  State  where  the 
bluffs  approach  the  stream  on  both  sides.  The  Lower  Silurian  formations  com- 
pose the  bluffs  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  but  they  gradually  disappear 
by  a  southerly  dip,  and  the  bluffs  are  continued  successively  by  the  Upper 
Silurian,  Devonian,  and  subcarboniferous  rocks,  which  are  reached  near  the 
southeastern  corner  of  the  State. 

Considered  in  their  relation  to  the  present  general  surface  of  the  state,  the 
relative  ages  of  the  river  valley  of  Iowa  date  back  only  to  the  close  of  the 
glacial  epoch ;  but  that  the  Mississippi,  and  all  the  rivers  of  Northeastern  Iowa, 
if  no  others,  had  at  least  a  large  part  of  the  rocky  portions  of  their  valleys 
eroded  by  pre-glacial,  or  perhaps  even  by  palgeozoic  rivers,  can  scarcely  be 
doubted. 

LAKES. 

The  lakes  of  Iowa  may  be  properly  divided  into  two  distinct  classes.  The 
first  may  be  called  drift  lakes,  having  had  their  origin  in  the  depressions  left 
in  the  surface  of  the  drift  at  the  close  of  the  glacial  epoch,  and  have  rested  upon 
the  undisturbed  surface  of  the  drift  deposit  ever  since  the  glaciers  disappeared. 
The  others  may  be  properly  termed  flitvatih  or  alluvial  lakes,  because  they  have 
had  their  origin  by  the  action  of  rivers  while  cutting  their  own  valleys  out  from 
the  surface  of  the  drift  as  it  existed  at  the  close  of  the  glacial  epoch,  and  are  now 
found  resting  upon  the  alluvium,  as  the  others  rest  upon  the  drift.  By  the  term 
alluvium  is  meant  the  deposit  which  has  accumulated  in  the  valleys  of  rivers  by 
the  action  of  their  own  currents.  It  is  largely  composed  of  sand  and  other 
coarse  material,  and  upon  that  deposit  are  some  of  the  best  and  most  productive 
soils  in  the  State.  It  is  this  deposit  which  form  the  flood  plains  and  deltas  of 
our  rivers,  as  well  as  the  terraces  of  their  valleys. 

'  The  regions  to  which  the  drift  lakes  are  principally  confined  are  near  the 
head  waters  of  the  principal  streams  of  the  State.  We  consequently  find  them 
in  those  regions  which  lie  between  the  Cedar  and  Des  Moines  Rivers,  and  the 
Des  Moines  and  Little  Sioux.  No  drift  lakes  are  found  in  Southern  Iowa. 
The  largest  of  the  lakes  to  be  found  in  the  State  are  Spirit  and  Okoboji,  in 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  119 

Dickinson  County ;   Clear  Lake,  in  Cerro  Gordo  County ;  and  Storm  Lake,  in 
Bunea  Vista  County. 

Spirit  Lake. — The  width  and  length  of  this  lake  are  about  equal ,  and  it 
contains  about  twelve  square  miles  of  surface,  its  northern  border  resting  directly 
on  the  boundary  of  the  State.  It  lies  almost  directly  upon  the  great  watershed. 
Its  shores  are  mostly  gravelly,  and  the  country  about  it  fertile. 

Okohoji  Lake. — This  body  of  water  lies  directly  south  of  Spirit  Lake,  and 
has  somewhat  the  shape  of  a  horse-shoe,  with  its  eastern  projection  within  a  few 
rods  of  Spirit  Lake,  where  it  receives  the  outlet  of  the  latter.  Okoboji  Lake 
extends  about  five  miles  southward  from  Spirit  Lake,  thence  about  the  same 
distance  westward,  and  then  bends  northward  about  as  far  as  the  eastern  projec- 
tion. The  eastern  portion  is  narrow,  but  the  western  is  larger,  and  in  some 
places  a  hundred  feet  deep.  The  surroundings  of  this  and  Spirit  Lake  are  very 
pleasant.  Fish  are  abundant  in  them,  and  they  are  the  resort  of  myriads  of 
water  fowl. 

Cleai'  Lake. — This  lake  is  situated  in  Cerro  Gordo  County,  upon  the 
watershed  between  the  Iowa  and  Cedar  Rivers.  It  is  about  five  miles  long, 
and  two  or  three  miles  wide,  and  has  a  maximum  depth  of  only  fifteen 
feet.     Its  shores  and  the  country  around  it  are  like  that  of  Spirit  Lake. 

Storm  Lake. — This  body  of  water  rests  upon  the  great  water  shed  in  Buena 
Vista  County.  It  is  a  clear,  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  containing  a  surface  area 
of  between  four  and  five  square  miles. 

The  outlets  of  all  these  drift-lakes  are  dry  during  a  portion  of  the  year,  ex- 
cept Okoboji. 

Walled  Lakes.— Along  the  water  sheds  of  Northern  Iowa  great  numbers  of 
small  lakes  exist,  varying  from  half  a  mile  to  a  mile  in  diameter.  One  of  the  lakes 
in  Wright  County,  and  another  in  Sac,  have  each  received  the  name  of  "  Walled 
Lake,"  on  account  of  the  existence  of  embankments  on  their  borders,  which  are 
supposed  to  be  the  work  of  ancient  inhabitants.  These  embankments  are  from 
two  to  ten  feet  in  height,  and  from  five  to  thirty  feet  across.  They  are  the 
result  of  natural  causes  alone,  being  referable  to  the  periodic  action  of  ice,  aided, 
to  some  extent,  by  the  force  of  the  waves.  These  lakes  are  very  shallow,  and 
in  winter  freeze  to  the  bottom,  so  that  but  little  unfrozen  water  remains  in  the 
middle.  The  ice  freezes  fast  to  everything  upon  the  bottom,  and  the  expansive 
power  of  the  water  in  freezing  acts  in  all  directions  from  the  center  to  the  cir- 
cumference, and  whatever  was  on  the  bottom  of  the  lake  has  been  thus  carried 
to  the  shore,  and  this  has  been  going  on  from  year  to  year,  from  century  to 
century,  forming  the  embankments  w^hich  have  caused  so  much  wonder. 

SPRINGS. 

Springs  issue  from  all  formations,  and  from  the  sides  of  almost  every  valley, 
but  they  are  more  numerous,  and  assume  proportions  which  give  rise  to  the 
name  of  sink-holes;  along  the  upland  borders  of  the  Upper  Iowa  River,  ovang 


120  lUSTvHn'  OF  TRK  STATl-    OF  TO'WA. 

to  tlio  peculiar  fissured  niul  laminated  ohnraoter  and  i::;reat  tliiokness  of  the  strata 
ot"  tlie  aire  of  the  Trenton  limestone  Avhieh  underlies  the  whole  region  of  the 
valley  of  that  sirean\. 

No  mineral  springs,  properly  so  called,  have  yet  been  discovered  in  Iowa, 
thoui^h  the  water  of  several  artesian  wells  is  frequently  foutul  charged  with 
soluble  mineral  substances. 

OKUUN    OF    TUK    PUAIRTES. 

It  is  estimated  tliat  seven-eighths  of  the  surface  of  the  State  was  prairie 
when  tirst  settled.  They  are  i\ot  contined  to  level  surfaces,  nor  to  any  partic- 
ular varietv  of  soil,  for  witliin  tlie  State  they  rest  upon  all  formations,  from 
those  of  the  Azoic  to  those  of  the  Cretaceous  age,  ii\clusive.  Whatever  may 
have  boon  their  on\}in,  their  present  existence  in  Iowa  is  not  due  to  the  intlu- 
euce  oi'  climate,  nor  the  soil,  nor  any  of  the  underlying  formations.  Tiie  real 
cause  is  the  prevalence  of  the  annual  tires.  If  these  had  been  prevented  fifty 
vears  ai^o.  Iowa  wouhl  now  be  a  timbered  country.  The  encroachment  of  forest 
troes  upon  prairie  farms  as;  soon  as  the  bordering  woodland  is  protected  from 
tlie  annual  prairie  fires,  is  well  known  to  farmei*s  throughout  the  State. 

The  stul  of  Iowa  is  justly  famous  for  its  fertility,  and  there  is  probably  no 
eciual  area  of  the  earths  sm-face  that  contains  so  little  nntillable  land,  or  whose 
soil  has  so  high  an  average  of  fertility.  Ninety -five  per  cent,  of  its  surface  is 
tiUablc  land. 

Gl-OLOOY. 

The  soil  of  loAva  may  be  separated  into  three  general  divisions,  which  not 
oiilv  possess  difterent  physical  characters,  but  also  differ  in  the  mode  of  their 
oriijin.  These  are  drift,  bluff  and  alluvial,  and  belong  respectively  to  the 
deposits  bearing  the  san\e  names.  The  drift  occupies  a  much  larger  part  of  the 
surface  of  the  State  than  both  the  others.  The  blutl'  has  the  next  greatest  ai*ea 
of  surface,  and  the  alluvial  least. 

All  soil  is  disintegrated  rock.  The  drift  deposit  of  Iowa  was  derivoii  to  a 
considerable  extent,  from  the  rocks  of  Minnesota :  but  the  greater  part  of  lowra 
drift  was  derived  from  its  own  rocks,  much  of  which  has  been  transported  but  a 
short  distance.  In  general  terms  the  i'onsta)it  component  element  of  the  drift 
soil  is  that  portion  which  was  transported  from  the  north,  while  the  incomtant 
elements  are  those  portions  which  were  derived  from  the  adjacent  or  underlying 
strata.  For  example,  in  "Western  Iowa,  wherever  that  cretaceous  formation 
known  as  the  Xishnabotany  sandstone  exists,  the  soil  contains  more  sand  than 
elsewhere.  The  same  nuiy  be  said  of  the  soil  of  some  parts  of  the  State  occu- 
pied by  the  lower  coal  measures,  the  sandstones  aivd  sandy  shales  of  that  forma- 
tion furnishiitg  the  sand. 

In  Xorthern  and  Northwestern  Iowa,  the  drift  contains  more  sand  and 
o;r:\vel  than  elsewhere.     This  sand  and  o-ravel  was,  doubtless,  derived  from  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA 


121 


cretaceous  rocks  that  now  do,  or  formerly  did,  exist  there,  and  also  in  part 
from  the  conglomerate  and  pudding-stone  beds  of  the  Sioux  quartzite. 

In  Southern  Iowa,  the  soil  is  frequently  stiff  and  clayey.  This  preponder- 
ating clay  is  doubtless  derived  from  the  clayey  and  shaly  beds  which  alternate 
with  the  limestones  of  that  region. 

The  bluff  soil  is  that  which  rests  upon,  and  constitutes  a  part  of,  the  bluff 
deposit.  It  is  found  only  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  and  adjacent  to  the 
Missouri  River.  Although  it  contains  less  than  one  per  cent,  of  clay  in  its 
composition,  it  is  in  no  respect  inferior  to  the  best  drift  soil. 

The  alluvial  soil  is  that  of  the  flood  plains  of  the  river  valleys,  or  bottom 
lands.  That  which  is  periodically  flooded  by  the  rivers  is  of  little  value  for 
agricultural  purposes ;  but  a  large  part  of  it  is  entirely  above  the  reach  of  the 
highest  floods,  and  is  very  productive. 

The  stratified  rocks  of  Iowa  range  from  the  Azoic  to  the  Mesozoic,  inclu- 
sive ;  but  the  greater  portion  of  the  surface  of  the  State  is  occupied  by  those 
of  the  Palaeozoic  age.  The  table  below  will  show  each  of  these  formations  in 
their  order : 


SYSTEMS. 

AGES. 


Cretaceous 

Carboniferous.. 

Devonian 

Upper  Silurian 

Lower  Silurian 
Azoic 


GROUPS. 

PERIODS. 


Post  Tertiary 

Lower  Cretaceous. 

Coal  Measures. 

Subcarboniferous. 

I 

Hamilton 

Niagara  

Cincinnati 


FORMATIONS. 

EPOCHS. 


Trenton. 

Primordial. 
Huronian 


.\Drift 

\lnoceramous  bed 

j  Woodbury  Sandstone  and  Shales.. 

Nishnabotany  Sandstone 

Upper  Coal  Measures 

Middle  Coal  Measures 

Lower  Coal  Measures 

St.  Louis  Limestone 

Keokuk  Limestone 

Burlington  Limestone 

Kinderhook  beds 

Hamilton  Limestone  and  Shales. 

Niagara  Limestone 

Maquoketa  Shales 

Galena  Limestone 

Trenton  Limestone 

St.  Peter's  Sandstone 

Lower  Magnesian  Limestone 

Potsdam  Sandstone 

Sioux  Quartzite 


THICKNESS. 

IN    FEET. 


10 


to  200 

50 
130 
100 
200 
200 
200 

76 

90 
196 
175 
200 
350 

80 
250 
200 

80 
250 
300 

50 


THE    AZOIC    SYSTEM. 

The  Sioux  quartzite  is  found  exposed  in  natural  ledges  only  upon  a  few 
acres  in  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  State,  upon  the  banks  of  the  Big 
Sioux  River,  for  which  reason  the  specific  name  of  Sioux  Quartzite  has  been 
given  them.  It  is  an  intensely  hard  rock,  breaks  in  splintery  fracture,  and  a 
color  varying,  in  different  localities,  from  a  light  to  deep  red.  The  process  of 
metamorphism  has  been  so  complete  throughout  the  whole  formation  that  the 
rock  is  almost  everywhere  of  uniform  texture.  The  dip  is  four  or  five  degrees 
to  the  northward,  and  the  trend  of  the  outcrop  is  eastward  and  westward.     This 


122  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

rock  may  be  quarried  in  a  few  rare  cases,  but  usually  it  cannot  be  secured  in 
dry  forms  except  that  into  which  it  naturally  cracks,  and  the  tendency  is  to 
angular  pieces.     It  is  absolutely  indestructible. 

LOWER    SILURIAN    SYSTEM. 

PRIMORDIAL    GROUP. 

Potsda}n  Sandstone. — This  formation  is  exposed  only  in  a  small  portion  of 
the  northeastern  portion  of  the  State.  It  is  only  to  be  seen  in  the  bases  of  the 
bluflfs  and  steep  valley  sides  which  border  the  river  there.  It  may  be  seen 
underlying  the  lower  magnesian  limestone,  St.  Peter  s  sandstone  and  Trenton 
limestone,  in  their  regular  order,  along  the  bluffs  of  the  Mississippi  from  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  State  as  far  south  as  Guttenburg,  along  the  Upper 
Iowa  for  a  distance  of  about  tAventy  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  along  a  few  of 
the  streams  Avhich  empty  into  the  jNIississippi  in  Allamakee  County. 

It  is  nearly  valueless  for  economic  purposes. 

No  fossils  have  been  discovered  in  this  formation  in  Iowa. 

Loiver  Magnesium  Limestone. — This  formation  has  but  little  greater  geo- 
graphical extent  in  Iowa  than  the  Potsdam  sandstone.  It  lacks  a  uniformity 
of  texture  and  stratification,  owing  to  which  it  is  not  generally  valuable  for 
building  purposes. 

The  onW  fossils  found  in  this  formation  in  Iowa  are  a  few  traces  of  crinoids, 
near  McGregor. 

St.  Peter  s  Sandstone. — This  formation  is  remarkably  uniform  in  thickness 
throughout  its  known  geographical  extent ;  and  it  is  evident  it  occupies  a  large 
portion  of  the  northern  half  of  Allamakee  County,  immediately  beneath  the 
drift. 

TRENTON    GROUP. 

Tre7iton  Limestone. — With  the  exception  of  this,  all  the  limestones  of  both 
Upper  and  LoAver  Silurian  age  in  Iowa  are  magnesian  limestones — nearly  pure 
dolomites.  This  formation  occupies  large  portions  of  Winnesheik  and  x\lla- 
makee  Counties  and  a  portion  of  Clayton.  The  greater  part  of  it  is  useless  for 
economic  purposes,  yet  there  are  in  some  places  compact  and  evenly  bedded 
layers,  which  afford  fine  material  for  window  caps  and  sills. 

In  this  formation,  fossils  are  abundant,  so  much  so  that,  in  some  places,  the 
rock  is  made  up  of  a  mass  of  shells,  corals  and  fragments  of  tribolites,  cemented 
by  calcareous  material  into  a  solid  rock.  Some  of  these  fossils  are  new  to 
science  and  peculiar  to  Iowa. 

The  Gfalena  Limestone. — This  is  the  upper  formation  of  the  Trenton  group. 
It  seldom  exceeds  twelve  miles  in  width,  although  it  is  fullv  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  long.  The  outcrop  traverses  portions  of  the  counties  of  HoAvard, 
Winnesheik,  Allamakee,  Fayette,  Clayton,  Dubuque  and  Jackson.  It  exhibits 
its  greatest  development  in  Dubuque  County.  It  is  nearly  a  pure  dolomite, 
with  a  slight  admixture  of  silicious  matter.     It  is  usually  unfit  for  dressing. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  123' 

though  sometimes  near  the  top  of  the  bed  good  blocks  for  dressing  are  found. 
This  formation  is  the  source  of  the  lead  ore  of  the  Dubuque  lead  mines.  The 
lead  region  proper  is  confined  to  an  area  of  about  fifteen  miles  square  in  the 
vicinity  of  Dubuque.  The  ore  occurs  in  vertical  fissures,  which  traverse  the 
rock  at  regular  intervals  from  east  to  west ;  some  is  found  in  those  which  have 
a  north  and  south  direction.  The  ore  is  mostly  that  known  as  Galena,  or  sul- 
phuret  of  lead,  very  small  quantities  only  of  the  carbonate  being  found  with  it. 

CINCINNATI    GROUP. 

Maquoketa  Shales. — The  surface  occupied  by  this  formation  is  singularly 
long  and  narrow,  seldom  reaching  more  than  a  mile  or  two  in  width,  but  more 
than  a  hundred  miles  in  length.  Its  most  southerly  exposure  is  in  the  bluffs  of 
the  Mississippi  near  Bellevue,  in  Jackson  County,  and  the  most  northerly  yet 
recognized  is  in  the  western  part  of  Winnesheik  County.  The  whole  formation 
is  largely  composed  of  bluish  and  brownish  shales,  sometimes  slightly  arena- 
ceous, sometimes  calcareous,  which  weather  into  a  tenacious  clay  upon  the  sur- 
face, and  the  soil  derived  from  it  is  usually  stiff  and  clayey.  Its  economic 
v:ilue  is  very  slight. 

Several  species  of  fossils  which  characterize  the  Cincinnati  group  are  found 
in  the  Maquoketa  shales ;  but  they  contain  a  larger  number  that  have  been 
found  anywhere  else  than  in  these  shales  in  Iowa,  and  their  distinct  faunal  char- 
acteristics seem  to  warrant  the  separation  of  the  Maquoketa  shales  as  a  distinct 
formation  from  any  others  of  the  group. 

UPPER    SILURIAN    SYSTEM. 

NIAGARA   GROUP. 

Niagara  Limestone. — The  area  occupied  by  the  Niagara  limestone  is  nearly 
one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  long  from  north  to  south,  and  forty  and  fifty  miles  ■ 
wide. 

This  formation  is  entirely  a  magnesian  limestone,  with  in  some  places  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  silicious  matter  in  the  form  of  chert  or  coarse  flint.  A 
large  part  of  it  is  evenly  bedded,  and  probably  affords  the  best  and  greatest 
amount  of  quarry  rock  in  the  State.  The  quarries  at  Anamosa,  LeClaire  and 
Farley  are  all  opened  in  this  formation. 

DEVONIAN   SYSTEM. 

HAMILTON    GROUP. 

Hamilton  Limestone. — The  area  of  surface  occupied  by  the  Hamilton  lime- 
stone and  shales  is  fully  as  great  as  those  by  all  the  formations  of  both  Upper 
and  Lower  Silurian  age  in  the  State.  It  is  nearly  two  hundred  miles  long  and 
from  forty  to  fifty  miles  broad.  The  general  trend  is  northwestward  and  south- 
eastws^'d. 

Although  a  large  part  of  the  material  of  this  formation  is  practically  quite 
"ajarthless,  yet  other  portions  are  valuable  for  economic  purposes ;  and  having  a 


124  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

larije  o-ooo-raphical  extent  in  the  State,  is  one  of  the  most  important  formations, 
in  a  practical  point  of  view.  At  Waverly,  Bremer  County,  its  value  for  the 
production  of  hydraulic  lime  has  been  practically  demonstrated.  The  heavier 
and  more  uniform  magnesian  beds  furnish  material  for  bridge  piers  and  other 
material  requiring  strength  and  durability. 

All  the  Devonian  strata  of  Iowa  evidently  belong  to  a  single  epoch,  and  re- 
ferable to  the  Hamilton,  as  recognized  by  New  York  geologists. 

The  most  conspicuous  and  characteristic  fossils  of  this  formation  are  bra- 
chiopod,  mollusks  and  corals.  The  coral  Acervularia  Davidsoni  occurs  near 
Iowa  City,  and  is  known  as  "Iowa  City  Marble,"  and  •'  bird's-eye  marble." 

CARBONIFEROUS   SYSTEM. 
Of  the  three  groups  of  formations  that  constitute  the  carboniferous  system, 
viz.,  the  subcarboniferous,  coal  measures  and  permian,  only  the  first  two  are 
found  in  Iowa. 

SUBCARBONIFEROUS  GROUP. 
The  area  of  the  surface  occupied  by  this  group  is  very  large.  Its  eastern 
border  passes  from  the  northeastern  part  of  Winnebago  County,  with  consider- 
able directness  in  a  southeasterly  direction  to  the  northern  part  of  Washington 
County.  Here  it  makes  a  broad  and  direct  bend  nearly  eastward,  striking 
the  Mississippi  River  at  Muscatine.  The  southern  and  western  boundary  is  to 
a  considerable  extent  the  same  as  that  Avhich  separates  it  from  the  coal  field. 
Fiom  the  southern  part  of  Pocahontas  County  it  passes  southeast  to  Fort  Dodge, 
thence  to  Webster  City,  thence  to  a  point  three  or  four  miles  northeast  of  El- 
dora,  in  Hardin  County,  thence  southward  to  the  middle  of  the  north  line  of 
Jasper  County,  thence  southeastward  to  Sigourney,  in  Keokuk  County,  thence 
to  the  northeastern  corner  of  Jefferson  County,  thence  sweeping  a  few  miles 
eastward  to  the  southeast  corner  of  Van  Buren  County.  Its  area  is  nearly  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  and  from  twenty  to  fifty  miles  wide. 

The  Kinderhook  Beds. — The  most  southerly  exposure  of  these  beds  is  near 
the  mouth  of  Skunk  River,  in  Des  Moines  County.  The  most  northerly  now- 
known  is  in  the  eastern  part  of  Pocahontas  County,  more  than  two  hundred 
miles  distant.  The  principal  exposures  of  this  formation  are  along  the  bluffs 
which  border  the  ^lississippi  and  Skunk  Rivers,  where  they  form  the  eastern 
and  northern  boundary  of  Des  Moines  County,  along  English  River,  in  Wa^ih- 
ington  County :  along  the  Iowa  River,  in  Tama,  Marshall,  Hamlin  and  Frank- 
lin Counties  :  and  along  the  Des  Moines  River,  in  Humboldt  County. 

The  economic  value  of  this  formation  is  very  considerable,  particularly  in 
the  northern  portion  of  the  region  it  occupies.  In  Pocahontas  and  Humboldt 
Counties  it  is  almost  invaluable,  as  no  other  stone  except  a  few  boulders  are 
found  here.  At  Iowa  Falls  the  lower  division  is  very  good  for  building  pur- 
poses. In  Marshall  County  all  the  limestone  to  be  obtained  comes  from  this 
formation,  and  the  quarries  near  LeGrand  are  very  valuable.     At  this  point 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  125 

some  of  the  layers  are  finely  veined  with  peroxide  of  iron,  and  are  wrought  into 
ornamental  and  useful  objects. 

In  Tama  County,  the  oolitic  member  is  well  exposed,  where  it  is  manufac- 
tured into  lime.  It  is  not  valuable  for  building,  as  upon  exposure  to  atmosphere 
and  frost,  it  crumbles  to  pieces. 

The  remains  of  fishes  are  the  only  fossils  yet  discovered  in  this  formation 
that  can  be  referred  to  the  sub-kingdom  vertebrata  ;  and  so  far  as  yet  recog- 
nized, they  all  belong  to  the  order  selachians. 

Of  ARTICULATES,  Only  two  species  have  been  recognized,  both  of  which 
belong  to  the  genus  phillipsia. 

The  sub-kingdom  mollusca  is  largely  represented. 

The  radiata  are  represented  by  a  few  crinoids,  usually  found  in  a  very  im- 
perfect condition.     The  sub-kingdom  is  also  represented  by  corals. 

The  prominent  feature  in  the  life  of  this  epoch  was  molluscan  ;  so  much  so 
in  fact  as  to  overshadow  all  other  branches  of  the  animal  kingdom.  The  pre- 
vailing classes  are :  lamellibranchiates,  in  the  more  arenaceous  portions  ;  and 
brachiopods,  in  the  more  calcareous  portions. 

No  remains  of  vegetation  have  been  detected  in  any  of  the  strata  of  this 
formation. 

The  Burlington  Limestone. — This  formation  consists  of  two  distinct  calca- 
reous divisions,  which  are  separated  by  a  series  of  silicious  beds.  Both  divi- 
sions are  eminently  crinoidal. 

The  southerly  dip  of  the  Iowa  rocks  carries  the  Burlington  limestone  down, 
so  that  it  is  seen  for  the  last  time  in  this  State  in  the  valley  of  Skunk  River, 
near  the  southern  boundary  of  Des  Moines  County.  The  most  northerly  point 
at  which  it  has  been  recognized  is  in  the  northern  part  of  Washington  County. 
It  probably  exists  as  far  north  as  Marshall  County. 

This  formation  affords  much  valuable  material  for  economic  purposes.  The 
upper  division  furnishes  excellent  common  quarry  rock. 

The  great  abundance  and  variety  of  its  fossils — crinoids — now  known  to  be 
more  than  three  hundred,  have  justly  attracted  the  attention  of  geologists  in  all 
parts  of  the  world. 

The  only  remains  of  vertebrates  discovered  in  this  formation  are  those  of 
fishes,  and  consist  of  teeth  and  spines ;  bone  of  bony  fishes,  like  those  most 
counnon  at  the  present  day,  are  found  in  these  rocks.  On  Buffington  Creek,  in 
Louisa  County,  is  a  stratum  in  an  exposure  so  fully  charged  with  these  remains 
that  it  might  with  propriety  be  called  bone  breccia. 

Remains  of  articulates  are  rare  in  this  formation.  So  far  as  yet  discovered, 
they  are  confined  to  two  species  of  tribolites  of  the  genus  phillipsia. 

Fossil  shells  are  very  common. 

The  two  lowest  classes  of  the  sub-kingdom  radiata  are  represented  m  the 
genera  zaphrcntis,  amplexus  and  syringapora,  while  the  highest  class — echino- 
derms — are  found  in  most  extraordinary  profusion. 


126  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

The  Keokuk  Limestone. — It  is  only  in  the  four  counties  of  Lee,  Van 
Buren,  Henry  and  Des  Moines  that  this  formation  is  to  be  seen. 

In  some  localities  the  upper  silicious  portion  of  this  formation  is  known  as 
the  Geode  bed.  It  is  not  recognizable  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  formation, 
nor  in  connection  with  it  where  it  is  exposed,  about  eighty  miles  below  Keokuk. 

The  geodes  of  the  Geode  bed  are  more  or  less  spherical  masses  of  silex, 
usually  hollow  and  lined  with  crystals  of  quartz.  The  outer  crust  is  rough  and 
unsightly,  but  the  crystals  which  stud  the  interior  are  often  very  beautiful. 
They  vary  in  size  from  the  size  of  a  walnut  to  a  foot  in  diameter. 

The  economic  value  of  this  formation  is  very  great.  Large  quantities  of  its 
stone  have  been  used  in  the  finest  structures  in  the  State,  among  which  are  the 
post  offices  at  Dubuque  and  Des  Moines.  The  principal  quarries  are  along  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi,  from  Keokuk  to  Nauvoo. 

The  only  vertebrate  fossils  found  in  the  formation  are  fishes,  all  belonging 
to  the  order  selachians,  some  of  which  indicate  that  their  owners  reached  a 
length  of  twenty -five  or  thirty  feet. 

Of  the  articulates,  only  two  species  of  the  genus  phillipsia  have  been  found 
in  this  formation. 

Of  the  mollusks,  no  cephalopods  have  yet  been  recognized  in  this  formation  in 
this  State ;  gasteropods  are  rare ;  brachiopods  and  polyzoans  are  quite  abundant. 

Of  radiates,  corals  of  genera  zaphrentes,  amplexus  and  aulopera  are  found, 
but  crinoids  are  most  abundant. 

Of  the  low  forms  of  animal  life,  the  protozoans,  a  small  fossil  related  to  the 
sponges,  is  found  in  this  formation  in  small  numbers. 

The  /St.  Louis  Limestone. — This  is  the  uppermost  of  the  subcarboniferous 
group  in  Iowa.  The  superficial  area  it  occupies  is  comparatively  small,  because 
it  consists  of  long,  narrow  strips,  yet  its  exten^  is  very  great.  It  is  first  seen 
resting  on  the  geode  division  of  the  Keokuk  limestone,  near  Keokuk.  Pro- 
ceeding northward,  it  forms  a  narrow  border  along  the  edge  of  the  coal  fields 
in  Lee,  Des  Moines,  Henry,  Jeff"erson,  Washington,  Keokuk  and  Mahaska 
Counties.  It  is  then  lost  sight  of  until  it  appears  again  in  the  banks  of  Boone 
River,  where  it  again  passes  out  of  view  under  the  coal  measures  until  it  is 
next  seen  in  the  banks  of  the  Des  Moines,  near  Fort  Dodge.  As  it  exists  in 
Iowa,  it  consists  of  three  tolerably  distinct  subdivisions — the  magnesian,  arena- 
ceous and  calcareous. 

The  upper  division  furnishes  excellent  material  for  quicklime,  and  when 
quarries  are  well  opened,  as  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Van  Buren  County, 
large  blocks  are  obtained.  The  sandstone,  or  middle  division,  is  of  little 
economic  value.  The  lower  or  magnesian  division  furnishes  a  valuable 
and  durable  stone,  exposures  of  which  are  found  on  Lick  Creek,  in  Van  Buren 
County,  and  on  Long  Creek,  seven  miles  west  of  Burlington. 

Of  the  fossils  of  this  formation,  the  vertebrates  are  represented  only  by  the 
remains  of  fish,  belonging  to  the   two  orders,  selachians   and  ganoids.     The 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  127 

articulates  are  represented  by  one  species  of  the  trilobite,  genus  j9^z7?i)?sza,  and 
two  ostracoid,  genera,  cythre  and  heyricia.  The  mollusks  distinguish  this 
formation  more  than  any  other  branch  of  the  animal  kingdom.  Radiates  are 
exceedingly  rare,  showing  a  marked  contrast  between  this  formation  and  the 
two  preceding  it. 

The  rocks  of  the  subcarboniferous  period  have  in  other  countries,  and  in 
other  parts  of  our  own  country,  furnished  valuable  minerals,  and  even  coal,  but 
in  Iowa  the  economic  value  is  confined  to  its  stone  alone. 

The  Lower  Silurian,  Upper  Silurian  and  Devonian  rocks  of  Iowa  are  largely 
composed  of  limestone.  Magnesia  also  enters  largely  into  the  subcarbon- 
iferous group.  With  the  completion  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  the 
production  of  the  magnesian  limestone  seems  to  have  ceased  among  the  rocks  of 
Iowa. 

Although  the  Devonian  age  has  been  called  the  age  of  fishes,  yet  so  far  as 
Iowa  is  concerned,  the  rocks  of  no  period  can  compare  with  the  subcarbon- 
iferous in  the  abundance  and  variety  of  the  fish  remains,  and,  for  this  reason, 
the  Burlington  and  Keokuk  limestones  will  in  the  future  become  more 
famous  among  geologists,  perhaps,  than  any  other  formations  in  North 
America. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Chester  limestone  is  omitted  from  the  subcarbon- 
iferous group,  and  which  completes  the  full  geological  series.  It  is  probable 
the  whole  surface  of  Iowa  was  above  the  sea  during  the  time  of  the 
formation  of  the  Chester  limestone  to  the  southward  about  one  hundred 
miles. 

At  the  close  of  the  epoch  of  the  Chester  limestone,  the  shallow  seas  in 
which  the  lower  coal  measures  were  formed  again  occupied  the  land,  extending 
almost  as  far  north  as  that  sea  had  done  in  which  the  Kinderhook  beds  were 
formed,  and  to  the  northeastward  its  deposits  extended  beyond  the  subcarbon- 
iferous groups,  outlines  of  which  are  found  upon  the  next,  or  Devonian  rock. 

THE    COAL-MEASURE    GROUP. 

The  coal-measure  group  of  Iowa  is  properly  divided  into  three  formations, 
viz.,  the  lower,  middle  and  upper  coal  measures,  each  having  a  vertical  thick- 
ness of  about  two  hundred  feet. 

A  line  drawn  upon  the  map  of  Iowa  as  follows,  will  represent  the  eastern 
and  northern  boundaries  of  the  coal  fields  of  the  State  :  Commencing  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Van  Buren  County,  carry  the  line  to  the  northeast  corner 
of  Jefferson  County  by  a  slight  easterly  curve  through  the  western  portions  of 
Lee  and  Henry  Counties.  Produce  this  line  until  it  reaches  a  point  six  or 
eight  miles  northward  from  the  one  last  named,  and  then  carry  it  northwest- 
ward, keeping  it  at  about  the  same  distance  to  the  northward  of  Skunk  River 
and  its  north  branch  that  it  had  at  first,  until  it  reaches  the  southern  boundary 
of  Marshall    County,  a  little  west  of  its  center.     Then  carry  it  to  a  point 


128  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

three  or  four  miles  northeast  from  Eldora.  in  Hardin  Coimtv  ;  thence  west- 
ward to  a  point  a  little  north  of  Webster  City,  in  Hamilton  County ;  and 
thence  further  -westward  to  a  point  a  little  north  of  Fort  Dodge,  in  "Webster 
County. 

Lower  Coal  Jleasuns. — In  consequence  of  the  recedence  to  the  southward 
of  the  borders  of  the  middle  and  upper  coal  measures,  the  lower  coal  measures 
alone  exist  to  the  eastward  and  northward  of  Des  Moines  Kiver.  They  also 
occupy  a  large  area  westward  and  southward  of  that  riyer,  but  their  southerly 
dip  passes  them  below  the  middle  coal  measures  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
riyer. 

No  other  formation  in  the  whole  State  possesses  the  economic  yaliie  of  the 
lower  coal  measures.  The  clay  that  underlies  almost  eyery  bed  of  coal  furnishes 
a  large  amount  of  material  for  potters"  use.  The  sandstone  of  these  measures 
is  usiuiUy  soft  and  unfit,  but  in  some  places,  as  near  Red  Rock,  in  Marion 
County,  blocks  of  large  dimensions  are  obtained  which  make  good  building 
material,  samples  of  which  can  be  seen  in  the  State  Arsenal,  at  Des  Moines. 
On  the  whole,  that  portion  of  the  State  occupied  by  the  lower  coal  measures, 
is  not  well  supplied  with  stone. 

Bur  few  fossils  haye  been  found  in  any  of  the  strata  of  the  lower  coal  meas- 
ures, but  such  animal  remains  as  haye  been  found  are  without  exception  of 
marine  origin. 

Of  fossil  plants  found  in  these  measures,  all  probably  belong  to  the  class 
acrogens.  Specimens  of  calamites,  and  seyeral  species  of  ferns,  are  found  in 
all  of  the  coal  measures,  but  the  genus  lepidodendron  seems  not  to  haye  existed 
later  than  the  epoch  of  the  middle  coal  measures. 

Middle  Coal  Measures. — This  formation  within  the  State  of  Iowa  occupies 
a  narrow  belt  of  territory  in  the  southern  central  portion  of  the  State,  embrac- 
ing a  superficial  area  of  about  fourteen  hundred  square  miles.  The  counties 
more  or  less  imderlaid  by  this  formation  are  Guthrie.  Dallas,  Polk,  Madison, 
Warren,  Clarke.  Lucas,  Monroe.  AVayne  and  Appanoose. 

This  formation  is  composed  of  alternating  beds  of  clay,  sandstone  and  lime- 
stone, the  clays  or  shales  constituting  the  bulk  of  the  formation,  the  limestone 
occurring  in  their  bands,  the  lithological  peculiarities  of  which  ofier  many  con- 
trasts to  the  limestones  of  the  upper  and  lower  coal  measures.  The  formation 
is  also  characterized  by  regular  waye-like  undulations,  with  a  parallelism  which 
indicates  a  Ayidespread  disturbance,  though  no  dislocation  of  the  strata  haye 
been  diseoyered. 

Generally  speaking,  few  species  of  fossils  occur  in  these  beds.  Some  of  the 
shales  and  sandstone  haye  afiorded  a  few  imperfectly  preseryed  land  plants — 
three  or  four  species  of  ferns,  belonging  to  the  genera.  Some  of  the  carbonif- 
erous shales  afford  beautiful  specimens  of  what  appear  to  haye  been  sea-weeds. 
Radiates  are  represented  by  corals.  The  mollusks  are  most  numerously  repre- 
sented.     Tn'lohittS  and  ostracoids  are  the  only  remains  known  of  articulates. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  129' 

Vertebrates  are  only  known  by  the  remains  of  salachians,  or  sharks,  and 
ganoids. 

Upper  Coal  Measures. — The  area  occupied  by  this  formation  in  Iowa  is 
very  great,  comprising  thirteen  whole  counties,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
State.  It  adjoins  by  its  northern  and  eastern  boundaries  the  area  occupied  by 
the  middle  coal  measures. 

The  prominent  lithological  features  of  this  formation  are  its  limestones,  yet 
it  contains  a  considerable  proportion  of  shales  and  sandstones.  Although  it  is 
known  by  the  name  of  upper  coal  measures,  it  contains  but  a  single  bed  of  coal, 
and  that  only  about  twenty  inches  in  maximum  thickness. 

The  limestone  exposed  in  this  formation  furnishes  good  material  for  building 
as  in  Madison  and  Fremont  Counties.  The  sandstones  are  quite  worthless.  No 
beds  of  clay  for  potter's  use  are  found  in  the  whole  formation. 

The  fossils  in  this  formation  are  much  more  numerous  than  in  either  the 
middle  or  lower  coal  measures.  The  vertebrates  are  represented  by  the  fishes 
of  the  orders  selachians  and  ganoids.  The  articulates  are  represented  by  the 
trilobites  and  ostracoids.  Mollusks  are  represented  by  the  classes  cephalapoda, 
gasteropoda,  lamelli,  branchiata,  brachiapoda  and  polyzoa.  Radiates  are  more 
numerous  than  in  the  lower  and  middle  coal  measures.  Protogoans  are  repre- 
sented in  the  greatest  abundance,  some  layers  of  limestone  being  almost  entirely 
composed  of  their  small  fusiform  shells. 

CRETACEOUS    SYSTEM. 

There  being  no  rocks,  in  Iowa,  of  permian,  triassic  or  Jurassic  age,  the 
next  strata  in  the  geological  series  are  of  the  cretaceous  age.  They  are  found 
in  the  western  half  of  the  State,  and  do  not  dip,  as  do  all  the  other  formations 
upon  -which  they  rest,  to  the  southward  and  westward,  but  have  a  general  dip 
of  their  own  to  the  north  of  westward,  which,  however,  is  very  slight. 
Although  the  actual  exposures  of  cretaceous  rocks  are  few  in  Iowa,  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  nearly  all  the  western  half  of  the  State  was  originally 
occupied  by  them ;  but  being  very  friable,  they  have  been  removed  by  denuda- 
tion, which  has  taken  place  at  two  separate  periods.  The  first  period  was 
during  its  elevation  from  the  cretaceous  sea,  and  during  the  long  tertiary  age 
that  passed  between  the  time  of  that  elevation  and  the  commencement  of  the 
glacial  epoch.  The  second  period  was  during  the  glacial  epoch,  when  the  ice 
produced  their  entire  removal  over  considerable  areas. 

It  is  difficult  to  indicate  the  exact  boundaries  of  these  rocks ;  the  following 
will  approximate  the  outlines  of  the  area : 

From  the  northeast  corner  to  the  southwest  corner  of  Kossuth  County  ; 
thence  to  the  southeast  corner  of  Guthrie  County;  thence  to  the  southeast 
corner  of  Cass  County ;  thence  to  the  middle  of  the  south  boundary  of  Mont- 
gomery County ;  thence  to  the  middle  of  the  north  boundary  of  Pottawattamie 
County ;  thence  to  the  middle  of  the  south  boundary  of  Woodbury  County  ; 


130  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

thence  to  Sergeant's  bluifs ;  up  the  Missouri  and  Big  Sioux  Rivers  to  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  State ;  eastward  along  the  State  line  to  the  place  of 
heginning. 

All  the  cretaceous  rocks  in  Iowa  are  a  part  of  the  same  deposits  farther  up 
the  Missouri  River,  and  in  reality  form  their  eastern  boundary. 

Nishnahotany  Sandstone. — This  rock  has  the  most  easterly  and  southerly 
extent  of  the  cretaceous  deposits  of  Iowa,  reaching  the  southeastern  part  of 
Guthrie  County  and  the  southern  part  of  Montgomery  County.  To  the  north- 
ward, it  passes  beneath  the  Woodbury  sandstones  and  shales,  the  latter  passing 
beneath  the  inoceramus,  or  chalky,  beds.  This  sandstone  is,  with  few  excep- 
tions, almost  valueless  for  economic  purposes. 

The  only  fossils  found  in  this  formation  are  a  few  fragments  of  angiosper- 
mous  leaves. 

Woodbury  Sandstones  and  Shales. — These  strata  rest  upon  the  Nishna- 
hotany sandstone,  and  have  not  been  observed  outside  of  "Woodbury  County, 
hence  their  name.  Their  principal  exposure  is  at  Sergeant's  Bluifs,  seven 
miles  below  Sioux  City. 

This  rock  has  no  value  except  for  purposes  of  common  masonry. 

Fossil  remains  are  rare.  Detached  scales  of  a  lepidoginoid  species  have 
been  detected,  but  no  other  vertebrate  remains.  Of  remains  of  vegetation, 
leaves  of  salix  meekii  and  sassafras  cretaceum  have  been  occasionally  found. 

Inoceramus  Beds. — These  beds  rest  upon  the  Woodbury  sandstones  and 
shales.  They  have  not  been  observed  in  Iowa,  except  in  the  bluffs  which 
border  the  Big  Sioux  River  in  Woodbury  and  Plymouth  Counties.  They  are 
composed  almost  entirely  of  calcareous  material,  the  upper  portion  of  which  is 
extensively  used  for  lime.  No  building  material  is  to  be  obtained  from  these 
beds ;  and  the  only  value  they  possess,  except  lime,  are  the  marls,  which  at 
some  time  may  be  useful  on  the  soil  of  the  adjacent  region. 

The  only  vertebrate  remains  found  in  the  cretaceous  rocks  are  the  fishes. 
Those  in  the  inoceramus  beds  of  Iowa  are  two  species  of  squoloid  selachians, 
or  cestratront,  and  three  genera  of  teliosts.     Molluscan  remains  are  rare. 

PEAT. 

Extensive  beds  of  peat  exist  in  Northern  Middle  Iowa,  which,  it  is  esti- 
mated, contain  the  following  areas  : 

Counties.  Acres. 

Cerro  Gordo .' , 1,500 

Worth 2,C00 

Winnebago  2,000 

Hancock 1,500 

Wright 500 

Kossuth 700 

Dickinson 80 

Several  other  counties  contain  peat  beds,  but  the  character  of  the  peat  is 
inferior  to  that  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State.     The  character  of  the  peat 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  131 

named  is  equal  to  that  of  Ireland.  The  beds  are  of  an  average  depth  of  four 
feet.  It  is  estimated  that  each  acre  of  these  beds  will  furnish  two  hundred  and 
fifty  tons  of  dry  fuel  for  each  foot  in  depth.  At  present,  owing  to  the  sparse- 
ness  of  the  population,  this  peat  is  not  utilized  ;  but,  owing  to  its  great  distance 
from  the  coal  fields  and  the  absence  of  timber,  the  time  is  coming  when  their 
value  will  be  realized,  and  the  fact  demonstrated  that  Nature  has  abundantly 
compensated  the  deficiency  of  other  fuel. 

GYPSUM. 

The  only  deposits  of  the  sulphates  of  the  alkaline  earths  of  any  economic 
value  in  Iowa  are  those  of  gypsum  at  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Dodge,  in 
Webster  County.  All  others  are  small  and  unimportant.  The  deposit  occupies 
a  nearly  central  position  in  Webster  County,  the  Des  Moines  River  running 
nearly  centrally  through  it,  along  the  valley  sides  of  which  the  gypsum  is  seen 
in  the  form  of  ordinary  rock  clifi"  and  ledges,  and  also  occurring  abundantly  in 
similar  positions  along  both  sides  of  the  valleys  of  the  smaller  streams  and  of 
the  numerous  ravines  coming  into  the  river  valley. 

The  most  northerly  known  limit  of  the  deposit  is  at  a  point  near  the  mouth 
of  Lizard  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Des  Moines  River,  and  almost  adjoining 
the  town  of  Fort  Dodge.  The  most  southerly  point  at  which  it  has  been 
found  exposed  is  about  six  miles,  by  way  of  the  river,  from  this  northerly  point 
before  mentioned.  Our  knowledge  of  the  width  of  the  area  occupied  by  it  is 
limited  by  the  exposures  seen  in  the  valleys  of  the  small  streams  and  in  the 
ravines  which  come  into  the  valley  within  the  distance  mentioned.  As  one  goes 
up  these  ravines  and  minor  valleys,  the  gypsum  becomes  lost  beneath  the  over- 
lying drift.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  diiferent  parts  of  this  deposit,  now 
disconnected  by  the  valleys  and  ravines  having  been  cut  through  it,  were  orig- 
inally connected  as  a  continuous  deposit,  and  there  seems  to  be  as  little  reason 
to  doubt  that  the  gypsum  still  extends  to  considerable  distance  on  each  side  of 
the  valley  of  the  river  beneath  the  drift  which  covers  the  region  to  a  depth  of 
from  twenty  to  sixty  feet. 

The  country  round  about  this  region  has  the  prairie  surface  approximating 
a  general  level  which  is  so  characteristic  of  the  greater  part  of  the  State,  and 
which  exists  ii'respective  of  the  character  or  geological  age  of  the  strata  beneath, 
mainly  because  the  drift  is  so  deep  and  uniformly  distributed  that  it  frequently 
almost  alone  gives  character  to  the  surface.  The  valley  sides  of  the  Des  Moines 
River,  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Dodge,  are  somewhat  abrupt,  having  a  depth  there 
from  the  general  level  of  the  upland  of  about  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet, 
and  consequently  presents  somewhat  bold  and  interesting  features  in  the  land- 
scape. 

As  one  walks  up  and  down  the  creeks  and  ravines  which  come  into  the 
valley  of  the  Des  Moines  River  there,  he  sees  the  gypsum  exposed  on 
either   side   of  them,  jutting    out   from   beneath    the    drift    in   the    form  of 


132  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

ledges  and  bold  quarry  fronts,  having  almost  the  exact  appearance  of 
ordinary  limestone  exposures,  so  horizontal  and  regular  are  its  lines  of 
stratification,  and  so  similar  in  color  is  it  to  some  varieties  of  that  rock.  The 
principal  quarries  now  opened  are  on  Two  Mile  Creek,  a  couple  of  miles  below 
Fort  Dodge. 

The  reader  will  please  bear  in  mind  that  the  gypsum  of  this  remarkable 
deposit  does  not  occur  in  "heaps  "  or  "  nests,"  as  it  does  in  most  deposits  of 
gypsum  in  the  States  farther  eastward,  but  that  it  exists  here  in  the  form  of  a 
regularly  stratified,  continuous  formation,  as  uniform  in  texture,  color  and 
quality  throughout  the  whole  region,  and  from  top  to  bottom  of  the  deposit 
as  the  granite  of  the  Quincy  quarries  is.  Its  color  is  a  uniform  gray,  result- 
ing from  alternating  fine  horizontal  lines  of  nearly  white,  with  similar  lines 
of  darker  shade.  The  gypsum  of  the  white  lines  is  almost  entirely  pure,  the 
darker  lines  containing  the  impurity.  This  is  at  intervals  barely  sufficient  in 
amount  to  cause  the  separation  of  the  mass  upon  those  lines  into  beds  or  layers, 
thus  facilitating  the  quarrying  of  it  into  desired  shapes.  These  bedding  sur- 
faces have  occasionally  a  clayey  feeling  to  the  touch,  but  there  is  nowhere  any 
intercalation  of  clay  or  other  foreign  substance  in  a  separate  form.  The  deposit 
is  known  to  reach  a  thickness  of  thirty  feet  at  the  quarries  referred  to,  but 
although  it  will  probably  be  found  to  exceed  this  thickness  at  some  other  points, 
at  the  natural  exposures,  it  is  seldom  seen  to  be  more  than  from  ten  to  twenty 
feet  thick. 

Since  the  drift  is  usually  seen  to  rest  directly  upon  the  gypsum,  with  noth- 
ing intervening,  except  at  a  few  points  where  traces  appear  of  an  overlying  bed 
of  clayey  material  without  doubt  of  the  same  age  as  the  gypsum,  the  latter 
probably  lost  something  of  its  thickness  by  mechanical  erosion  during  the 
glacial  epoch ;  and  it  has,  doubtless,  also  suffered  some  diminution  of  thickness 
since  then  by  solution  in  the  waters  which  constantly  percolate  through  the 
drift  from  the  surface.  The  drift  of  this  region  being  somewhat  clayey,  partic- 
ulary  in  its  lower  part,  it  has  doubtless  served  in  some  degree  as  a  protection 
against  the  diminution  of  the  gypaum  by  solution  in  consequence  of  its  partial 
imperviousness  to  water.  If  the  gypsum  had  been  covered  by  a  deposit  of  sand 
instead  of  the  drift  clays,  it  would  have  no  doubt  long  since  disappeared  by 
being  dissolved  in  the  water  that  would  have  constantly  reached  it  from  the  sur- 
face. Water  merely  resting  upon  it  would  not  dissolve  it  away  to  any  extent, 
but  it  rapidly  disappears  under  the  action  of  running  water.  Where  little  rills 
of  water  at  the  time  of  every  rain  run  over  the  face  of  an  unused  quarry,  from 
the  surface  above  it,  deep  grooves  are  thereby  cut  into  it,  giving  it  somewhat  the 
appearance  of  melting  ice  around  a  waterfall.  The  fact  that  gypsum  is  now 
suffering  a  constant,  but,  of  course,  very  slight,  diminution,  is  apparent  in  the 
fact  the  springs  of  the  region  contain  more  or  less  of  it  in  solution  in  their 
waters.  An  analysis  of  water  from  one  of  these  springs  will  be  found  in  Prof. 
Emery's  report. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  133 

Besides  the  clayey  beds  that  are  sometimes  seen  to  rest  upon  the  gypsum, 
there  are  occasionally  others  seen  beneath  them  that  are  also  of  the  same 
age,  and  not  of  the  age  of  the  coal-measure  strata  upon  which  they  rest. 

Age  of  the  Gypsum  Deposit. — In  neither  the  gypsum  nor  the  associated 
clays  has  any  trace  of  any  fossil  remains  been  found,  nor  has  any  other  indica- 
tion of  its  geological  age  been  observed,  except  that  which  is  afforded  by  its 
stratigraphical  relations ;  and  the  most  that  can  be  said  with  certainty  is  that  it 
is  newer  than  the  coal  measures,  and  older  than  the  drift.  The  indications 
afforded  by  the  stratigraphical  relations  of  the  gypsum  deposit  of  Fort  Dodge 
are,  however,  of  considerable  value. 

As  already  shown,  it  rests  in  that  region  directly  and  unconformably  upon 
the  lower  coal  measures ;  but  going  southward  from  there,  the  whole  series  of 
coal-measure  strata  from  the  top  of  the  subcarboniferous  group  to  the  upper 
coal  measures,  inclusive,  can  be  traced  without  break  or  unconformability. 
The  strata  of  the  latter  also  may  be  traced  in  the  same  manner  up  into  the 
Permian  rocks  of  Kansas;  and  through  this  long  series,  there  is  no  place  or 
horizon  which  suggests  that  the  gypsum  deposit  might  belong  there. 

Again,  no  Tertiary  deposits  are  known  to  exist  within  or  near  the  borders 
of  Iowa  to  suggest  that  the  gypsum  might  be  of  that  age ;  nor  are  any  of  the 
paleozoic  strata  newer  than  the  subcarboniferous  unconformable  upon  each 
other  as  the  other  gypsum  is  unconformable  upon  the  strata  beneath  it.  It 
therefore  seems,  in  a  measure,  conclusive,  that  the  gypsum  is  of  Mesozoic  age, 
perhaps  older  than  the  Cretaceous. 

Litliological  Origin. — As  little  can  be  said  with  certainty  concerning  the 
lithological  origin  of  this  deposit  as  can  be  said  concerning  its  geological  age, 
for  it  seems  to  present  itself  in  this  relation,  as  in  the  former  one,  as  an  isolated 
fact.  None  of  the  associated  strata  show  any  traces  of  a  double  decomposiHon 
of  pre-existing  materials,  such  as  some  have  supposed  all  deposits  of  gypsum  to 
have  resulted  from.  No  considerable  quantities  of  oxide  of  iron  nor  any  trace 
of  native  sulphur  have  been  found  in  connection  with  it;  nor  has  any  salt  been 
found  in  the  waters  of  the  region.  These  substances  are  common  in  association 
with  other  gypsum  deposits,  and  are  regarded  by  some  persons  as  indicative  of 
the  method  of  or  resulting  from  their  origin  as  such.  Throughout  the  whole 
region,  the  Fort  Dodge  gypsum  has  the  exact  appearance  of  a  sedimentary 
deposit.  It  is  arranged  in  layers  like  the  regular  layers  of  limestone,  and  the 
whole  mass,  from  top  to  bottom,  is  traced  with  fine  horizontal  laraim^  of  alter- 
nating white  and  gray  gypsum,  parallel  with  the  bedding  surfaces  of  the  layers, 
but  the  whole  so  intimately  blended  as  to  form  a  solid  mass.  The  darker  lines 
contain  almost  all  the  impurity  there  is  in  the  gypsum,  and  that  impurity  is 
evidently  sedimentary  in  its  character.  Frc"?!  these  facts,  and  also  from  the 
further  one  that  no  trace  of  fossil  remains  has  been  detected  in  the  gypsum,  it 
seems  not  unreasonable  to  entertain  the  opinion  that  the  gypsum  of  Fort  Dodge 
originated  as  a  chemical  precipitation  in  comparatively  still  waters  which  were 


134  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

saturated  with  sulphate  of  lime  and  destitute  of  life ;  its  stratification  and 
impurities  being  deposited  at  the  same  time  as  clayey  impurities  which  had  been 
held  suspended  in  the  same  waters. 

Physical  Properties. — Much  has  already  been  said  of  the  physical  proper- 
ties or  character  of  this  gypsum,  but  as  it  is  so  different  in  some  respects  from 
that  of  other  deposits,  there  are  yet  other  matters  worthy  of  mention  in  connec- 
tion with  those.  According  to  the  results  of  a  complete  and  exhaustive  anal- 
ysis by  Prof  Emery,  the  ordinary  gray  gypsum  contains  only  about  eight  per 
cent,  of  impurity ;  and  it  is  possible  that  the  average  impurity  for  the  whole 
deposit  will  not  exceed  that  proportion,  so  uniform  in  quality  is  it  from  to  top 
to  bottom  and  from  one  end  of  the  region  to  the  other. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  plaster  for  agricultural  purposes  is  sometimes 
prepared  from  gypsum  that  contains  as  much  as  thirty  per  cent,  of  impurity,  it 
will  be  seen  that  ours  is  a  very  superior  article  for  such  purposes.  The  impu- 
rities are  also  of  such  a  character  that  they  do  not  in  any  way  interfere  with  its 
value  for  use  in  the  arts.  Although  the  gypsum  rock  has  a  gray  color,  it 
becomes  quite  white  by  grinding,  and  still  whiter  by  the  calcining  process  nec- 
essary in  the  preparation  of  plaster  of  Paris.  These  tests  have  all  been  practi- 
cally made  in  the  rooms  of  the  Geological  Survey,  and  the  quality  of  the  plaster 
of  Paris  still  further  tested  by  actual  use  and  experiment.  No  hesitation, 
therefore,  is  felt  in  stating  that  the  Fort  Dodge  gypsum  is  of  as  good  a  quality 
as  any  in  the  country,  even  for  the  finest  uses. 

In  view  of  the  bounteousness  of  the  primitive  fertility  of  our  Iowa  soils, 
many  persons  forget  that  a  time  may  come  when  Nature  will  refuse  to  respond 
so  generously  to  our  demand  as  she  does  now,  without  an  adequate  return. 
Such  are  apt  to  say  that  this  vast  deposit  of  gypsum  is  valueless  to  our  com- 
monwealth, except  to  the  small  extent  that  it  may  be  used  in  the  arts.  This 
is  undoubtedly  a  short-sighted  view  of  the  subject,  for  the  time  is  even  now 
rapidly  passing  away  when  a  man  may  purchase  a  new  farm  for  less  money 
than  he  can  re-fertilize  and  restore  the  partially  wasted  primitive  fertility  of  the 
one  he  now  occupies.  There  are  farms  even  now  in  a  large  part  of  the  older 
settled  portions  of  the  State  that  would  be  greatly  benefited  by  the  proper 
application  of  plaster,  and  such  areas  will  continue  to  increase  until  it  will  be 
difiicult  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  deposit  of  gypsum  at  Fort  Dodge.  It 
should  be  remembered,  also,  that  the  inhabitants  of  an  extent  of  country 
adjoining  our  State  more  than  three  times  as  great  as  its  own  area  will  find  it 
more  convenient  to  obtain  their  supplies  from  Fort  Dodge  than  from  any  other 
source. 

For  want  of  direct  railroad  communication  between  this  region  and  other 
parts  of  the  State,  the  only  use  yet  made  of  the  gypsum  by  the  inhabitants  is 
for  the  purposes  of  ordinary  building  stone.  It  is  so  compact  that  it  is  found 
to  be  comparatively  unafiected  by  the  frost,  and  its  ordinary  situation  in  walls 
of  houses  is  such  that  it  is  protected  from  the  dissolving  action  of  water,  which 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  135 

can  at  most  reach  it  only  from  occasional  rains,  and  the  effect  of  these  is  too 
slight  to  be  perceived  after  the  lapse  of  several  years. 

One  of  the  citizens  of  Fort  Dodge,  Hon.  John  F.  Duncombe,  built  a  large, 
fine  residence  of  it,  in  1861,  the  walls  of  which  appear  as  unaffected  by 
exposure  and  as  beautiful  as  they  were  when  first  erected.  It  has  been  so  long 
and  successfully  used  for  building  stone  by  the  inhabitants  that  they  now  prefer 
it  to  the  limestone  of  good  quality,  which  also  exists  in  the  immediate  vicinity. 
This  preference  is  due  to  the  cheapness  of  the  gypsum,  as  compared  with  the 
stone.  The  cheapness  of  the  former  is  largely  due  to  the  facility  with  which  it 
is  quarried  and  wrought.  Several  other  houses  have  been  constructed  of  it  in 
Fort  Dodge,  including  the  depot  building  of  the  Dubuque  &  Sioux  City  Rail- 
road. The  company  have  also  constructed  a  large  culvert  of  the  same  material 
to  span  a  creek  near  the  town,  limestone  only  being  used  for  the  lower  courses, 
which  come  in  contact  with  the  water.  It  is  a  fine  arch,  each  stone  of  gypsum 
being  nicely  hewn,  and  it  will  doubtless  prove  a  very  durable  one.  Many  of 
the  sidewalks  in  the  town  are  made  of  the  slabs  or  flags  of  gypsum  which  occur 
in  some  of  the  quarries  in  the  form  of  thin  layers.  They  are  more  durable 
than  their  softness  would  lead  one  to  suppose.  They  also  possess  an  advantage 
over  stone  in  not  becoming  slippery  when  worn. 

The  method  adopted  in  quarrying  and  dressing  the  blocks  of  gypsum  is 
peculiar,  and  quite  unlike  that  adopted  in  similar  treatment  of  ordinary  stone. 
Taking  a  stout  auger-bit  of  an  ordinary  brace,  such  as  is  used  by  carpenters, 
and  filing  the  cutting  parts  of  it  into  a  peculiar  form,  the  quarryman  bores  his 
holes  into  the  gypsum  quarry  for  blasting,  in  the  same  manner  and  with  as 
great  facility  as  a  carpenter  would  bore  hard  wood.  The  pieces  being  loosened 
by  blasting,  they  are  broken  up  with  sledges  into  convenient  sizes,  or  hewn 
into  the  desired  shapes  by  means  of  hatchets  or  ordinary  chopping  axes,  or  cut 
by  means  of  ordinary  wood-saws.  So  little  grit  does  the  gypsum  contain  that 
these  tools,  made  for  working  wood,  are  found  to  be  better  adapted  for  working 
the  former  substance  than  those  tools  are  which  are  universally  used  for  work- 
ing stone. 

MINOR  DEPOSITS  OF  SULPHATE  OF  LIME. 

Besides  the  great  gypsum  deposit  of  Fort  Dodge,  sulphate  of  lime  in  the 
various  forms  of  fibrous  gypsum,  selenite,  and  small,  amorphous  masses,  has 
also  been  discovered  in  various  formations  in  different  parts  of  the  State,  includ- 
ing the  coal -measure  shales  near  Fort  Dodge,  where  it  exists  in  small  quanti- 
ties, quite  independently  of  the  great  gypsum  deposit  there.  The  quantity  of 
gypsum  in  these  minor  deposits  is  always  too  small  to  be  of  any  practical  value, 
and  frequently  minute.  They  usually  occur  in  shales  and  shaly  clays,  asso- 
ciated with  strata  that  contain  more  or  less  sulphuret  of  iron  (iron  pyrites). 
Gypsum  has  thus  been  detected  in  the  coal  measures,  the  St.  Louis  limestone, 
the  cretaceous  strata,  and  also  in  the  lead  caves  of  Dubuque.  In  most  of  these 
cases  it  is  evidently  the  result  of  double  decomposition  of  iron  pyrites  and  car- 


136  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

bonate  of  lime,  previously  existing  there ;  in  whicli  cases  the  gypsum  is  of  course 
not  an  original  deposit  as  the  great  one  at  Fort  Dodge  is  supposed  to  be. 

The  existence  of  these  comparatively  minute  quantities  of  gypsum  in  the 
shales  of  the  coal  measures  and  the  subcarboniferous  limestone  which  are  exposed 
within  the  region  of  and  occupy  a  stratigraphical  position  beneath  the  great 
gypsum  deposits,  suggests  the  possibility  that  the  former  may  have  originated  as 
a  precipitate  from  percolating  waters,  holding  gypsum  in  solution  which  they 
had  derived  from  that  deposit  in  passing  over  or  through  it.  Since,  however, 
the  same  substance  is  found  in  similar  small  quantities  and  under  similar  con- 
ditions in  regions  where  they  could  have  had  no  possible  connection  with  that 
deposit,  it  is  believed  that  none  of  those  mentioned  have  necessarily  originated 
from  it,  not  even  those  that  are  found  in  close  proximity  to  it. 

The  gypsum  found  in  the  lead  caves  is  usually  in  the  form  of  efflorescent 
fibers,  and  is  always  in  small  quantity.  In  the  lower  coal-measure  shale  near 
Fort  Dodge,  a  small  mass  was  found  in  the  form  of  an  intercalated  layer,  which 
had  a  distinct  fibrous  structure,  the  fibers  being  perpendicular  to  the  plane  of 
the  layer.  The  same  mass  had  also  distinct,  horizontal  planes  of  cleavage  at 
right  angles  with  the  perpendicular  fibers.  Thus,  being  more  or  less  transpa- 
rent, the  mass  combined  the  characters  of  both  fibrous  gypsum  and  selenite. 
No  anhydrous  sulphate  of  lime  {anhydrite)  has  been  found  in  connection  with 
the  great  gypsum  deposit,  nor  elsewhere  in  Iowa,  so  far  as  yet  known. 

SULPHATE    OF   STRONTIA. 
{^Celes'.ine .) 

The  only  locality  at  which  this  interesting  mineral  has  yet  been  found  in 
Iowa,  or,  so  far  as  is  known,  in  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  is  at  Fort 
Dodge.  It  occurs  there  in  very  small  quantity  in  both  the  shales  of  the  lower 
coal  measures  and  in  the  clays  that  overlie  the  gypsum  deposit,  and  which  are 
regarded  as  of  the  same  age  with  it.  The  first  is  just  below  the  city,  near  Rees' 
coal  bank,  and  occurs  as  a  lUyer  intercalated  among  the  coal  measure  shales, 
amounting  in  quantity  to  only  a  few  hundred  pounds'  weight.  The  mineral  is 
fibrous  and  crystalline,  the  fibers  being  perpendicular  to  the  plane  of  the  layer. 
Breaking  also  with  more  or  less  distinct  horizontal  planes  of  cleavage,  it  resem- 
bles, in  physical  character,  the  layer  of  fibi'O-crystalline  gypsum  before  men- 
tioned. Its  color  is  light  blue,  is  transparent  and  shows  crystaline  facets  upon 
both  the  upper  and  under  surfaces  of  the  layer ;  those  of  the  upper  sui-face 
being  smallest  and  most  numerous.  It  breaks  up  readily  into  small  masses 
along  the  lines  of  the  perpendicular  fibers  or  columns.  The  layer  is  probably 
not  more  than  a  rod  in  extent  in  any  direction  and  about  three  inches  in  maxi- 
mum thickness.  Apparent  lines  of  stratification  occur  in  it,  corresponding  with 
those  of  the  shales  which  imbed  it. 

The  other  deposit  was  still  smaller  in  amount,  and  occurred  as  a  mass  of 
crystals  imbedded  in  the  clays  that  overlie  the  gypsum  at  Cummins'  quarry  in 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  lOAVA.  137 

the  valley  of  Soldier  Creek,  upon  the  north  side  of  the  town.  The  mineral  is 
in  this  case  nearly  colorless,  and  but  for  the  form  of  the  separate  crystals  would 
closely  resemble  masses  of  impure  salt.  The  crystals  are  so  closely  aggregated 
that  they  enclose  but  little  impurity  in  the  mass,  but  in  almost  all  cases  their 
fundamental  forms  are  obscured.  This  mineral  has  almost  no  real  practical 
value,  and  its  occurrence,  as  described,  is  interesting  only  as  a  mineralogical 
fact. 

SULPHATE    OF    BARYTA. 
(^Barytes,  Heavy  Spar.) 

This  mineral  has  been  found  only  in  minute  quantities  in  Iowa.  It  has 
been  detected  in  the  coal-measure  shales  of  Decatur,  Madison  and  Marion 
Counties,  ihe  Devonian  limestone  of  Johnson  and  Bremer  Counties  and  in  the 
lead  caves  of  Dubuque.  In  all  these  cases,  it  is  in  the  form  of  crystals  or  small 
crystalline  masses. 

SULPHATE    OF   MAGNESIA. 
[Epsomite.) 

Epsomite,  or  native  epsom  salts,  having  been  discovered  near  Burlington, 
"we  have  thus  recognized  in  Iowa  all  the  sulphates  of  the  alkaline  earths  of 
natural  origin ;  all  of  them,  except  the  sulphate  of  lime,  being  in  very  small 
quantity.  Even  if  the  sulphate  of  magnesia  were  produced  in  nature,  in  large 
quantities,  it  is  so  very  soluble  that  it  can  accumulate  only  in  such  positions  as 
afford  it  complete  shelter  from  the  rains  or  running  water  The  epsomite 
mentioned  was  found  beneath  the  overhanging  cliff  of  Burlington  limestone, 
near  Starr's  mill,  which  are  represented  in  the  sketch  upon  another  page,  illus- 
trating the  subcarboniferous  rocks.  It  occurs  in  the  form  of  efflorescent  encrus- 
tations upon  the  surface  of  stones  and  in  similar  small  fragile  masses  among  the 
fine  debris  that  has  fallen  down  beneath  the  overhanging  cliff.  The  projection 
of  the  cliff  over  the  perpendicular  face  of  the  strata  beneath  amounts  to  near 
twenty  feet  at  the  point  where  epsomite  was  found.  Consequently  the  rains 
never  reach  far  beneath  it  from  any  quarter.  The  rock  upon  which  the  epsom- 
ite accumulates  is  an  impure  limestone,  containing  also  some  carbonate  of  mag- 
nesia, together  with  a  small  proportion  of  iron  pyrites  in  a  finely  divided  con- 
dition. It  is  doubtless  by  double  decomposition  of  these  that  the  epsomite  re- 
sults. By  experiments  with  this  native  salt  in  the  office  of  the  Survey,  a  fine 
article  of  epsom  salts  was  produced,  but  the  quantity  that  might  be  annually 
obtained  there  would  amount  to  only  a  few  pounds,  and  of  course  is  of  no  prac- 
tical value  whatever,  on  account  of  its  cheapness  in  the  market. 

CLIMATOLOGY. 

No  extended  record  of  the  climatology  of  Iowa  has  been  made,  yet  much  of 
great  value  may  be  learned  from  observations  made  at  a  single  point.  Prof  T. 
S.  Parvin,  of  the  State  University,  has  recorded  observations  made  from  1839 
to  the  present  time.     Previous  to  1860,  these  observations  were  made  at  Mus- 


-  138  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

catine.  Since  that  date,  they  were  made  in  Iowa  City.  The  result  is  that  the 
atmospheric  conditions  of  the  climate  of  Iowa  are  in  the  highest  degree  favor- 
able to  health. 

The  highest  temperature  here  occurs  in  August,  while  July  is  the  hottest 
month  in  the  year  by  two  degrees,  and  January  the  coldest  by  three  degrees. 

The  mean  temperature  of  April  and  October  most  nearly  corresponds  to  the 
mean  temperature  of  the  year,  as  well  as  their  seasons  of  Spring  and  Fall, 
while  that  of  Summer  and  Winter  is  best  represented  in  that  of  August  and 
December. 

The  period  of  greatest  heat  ranges  from  June  22d  to  August  31st ;  the  next 
mean  time  being  July  27th.  The  lowest  temperature  extends  from  December 
16th  to  February  15th,  the  average  being  January  20th — the  rai^e  in  each 
case  being  two  full  months. 

The  climate  of  Iowa  embraces  the  range  of  that  of  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois.  The  seasons  are  not  characterized  by  the 
frequent  and  sudden  changes  so  common  in  the  latitudes  further  south.  The 
temperature  of  the  Winters  is  somewhat  lower  than  States  eastward,  but  of  other 
seasons  it  is  higher.  The  atmosphere  is  dry  and  invigorating.  The  surface  of 
the  State  being  free  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  from  stagnant  water,  with  good 
breezes  at  nearly  all  seasons,  the  miasmatic  and  pulmonary  diseases  are 
unknown.  Mortuary  statistics  show  this  to  be  one  of  the  most  healthful  States 
in  the  Union,  being  one  death  to  every  ninety-four  persons.  The  Spring, 
Summer  and  Fall  months  are  delightful ;  indeed,  the  glory  of  Iowa  is  her 
Autumn,  and  nothing  can  transcend  the  splendor  of  her  Indian  Summer,  which 
lasts  for  weeks,  and  finally  blends,  almost  imperceptibly,  into  Winter. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 


DISCOVERY   AND    OCCUPATION. 

Iowa,  in  the  symbolical  and  expressive  language  of  the  aboriginal  inhab- 
itants, is  said  to  signify  "  The  Beautiful  Land,"  and  was  applied  to  this- 
magnificent  and  fruitful  region  by  its  ancient  owners,  to  express  their  apprecia- 
tion of  its  superiority  of  climate,  soil  and  location.  Prior  to  1803,  the  Mississippi 
River  was  the  extreme  western  boundary  of  the  United  States.  All  the  great 
empire  lying  west  of  the  "  Father  of  Waters,''  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the 
south  to  British  America  on  the  north,  and  westward  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  was 
a  Spanish  province.  A  brief  historical  sketch  of  the  discovery  and  occupation 
of  this  grand  empire  by  the  Spanish  and  French  governments  will  be  a  fitting 
introduction  to  the  history  of  the  young  and  thriving  State  of  Iowa,  which, 
until  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  was  a  part  of  the  Spanish 
possessions  in  America. 

Early  in  the  Spring  of  1542,  fifty  years  after  Columbus  discovered  the  New 
World,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  before  the  French  missionaries  discov- 
ered its  upper  waters,  Ferdinand  De  Soto  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
River  at  the  mouth  of  the  Washita.  After  the  sudden  death  of  De  Soto,  in. 
May  of  the  same  year,  his  followers  built  a  small  vessel,  and  in  July,  1543, 
descended  the  great  river  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

In  accordance  with  the  usage  of  nations,  under  which  title  to  the  soil  was 
claimed  by  right  of  discovery,  Spain,  having  conquered  Florida  and  discovered 
the  Mississippi,  claimed  all  the  territory  bordering  on  that  river  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  But  it  was  also  held  by  the  European  nations  that,  while  discovery 
gave  title,  that  title  must  be  perfected  by  actual  possession  and  occupation. 
Although  Spain  claimed  the  territory  by  right  of  first  discovery,  she  made  no 
effort  to  occupy  it;  by  no  pei'manent  settlement  had  she  perfected  and  held  her 
title,  and  therefore  had  forfeited  it  when,  at  a  later  period,  the  Lower  Mississippi 
Valley  was  re-discovered  and  occupied  by  France. 

The  unparalleled  labors  of  the  zealous  Fr(  nc^  Jesuits  of  Canada  in  penetrating 
the  unknown  region  of  the  West,  commencing  in  1611,  form  a  history  of  no  ordi- 
nary interest,  but  have  no  particular  connection  with  the  scope  of  the  present 
work,  until  in  the  Fall  of  1665.  Pierre  Claude  Allouez,  who  had  entered  Lake 
Superior  in  September,  and  sailed  along  the  southern  coast  in  search  of  copper, 
had  arrived  at  the  great  village  of  the  Chippewas  at  Chegoincegon.  Here  a 
grand  council  of  some  ten  or  twelve  of  the  principal  Indian  nations  was  held. 
The  Pottawatomies  of  Lake  Michigan,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  of  the  West,  the 
Hurons  from  the  North,  the  Illinois  from  the  South,  and  the  Sioux  from  the 
land  of  the  prairie  and  wild  rice,  were  all  assembled  there.     The  Illinois  told 


140  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

the  storv  of  their  ancient  glorj  and  about  the  noble  river  on  the  banks  of  which 
they  dwelt.  The  Sioux  also  told  their  white  brother  of  the  same  great  river, 
and  Allouez  promised  to  the  assembled  tribes  the  protection  of  the  French 
nation  against  all  their  enemies,  native  or  foreign. 

The  purpose  of  discovering  the  great  river  about  Avhich  the  Indian  na- 
tions had  given  such  glowing  accounts  appears  to  have  originated  with  Mar- 
quette, in  1669.  In  the  year  previous,  he  and  Claude  Dablon  had  established 
the  Mission  of  St.  Mary's,  the  oldest  white  settlement  within  the  present  limits 
of  the  State  of  Michigan.  Marquette  was  delayed  in  the  execution  of  his  great 
undertaking,  and  spent  the  interval  in  studying  the  language  and  habits  of  the 
Illinois  Indians,  among  whom  he  expected  to  travel. 

About  this  time,  the  French  Government  had  determined  to  extend  the  do- 
minion of  France  to  the  extreme  western  borders  of  Canada.  Nicholas  Perrot 
■was  sent  as  the  agent  of  the  government,  to  propose  a  grand  council  of  the 
Indian  nations,  at  St.  Mary's. 

When  Perrot  reached  Green  Bay,  he  extended  the  invitation  far  and  near ; 
and,  escorted  by  Pottawatomies,  repaired  on  a  mission  of  peace  and  friend- 
ship to  the  Miamis,  who  occupied  the  region  about  the  present  location  of 
Chicago. 

In  May,  1671,  a  great  council  of  Indians  gathered  at  the  Falls  of  St. 
Mary,  from  all  parts  of  the  Northwest,  from  the  head  waters  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, from  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  from  the  Red  River  of  the  North. 
Perrot  met  Avith  them,  and  after  grave  consultation,  formally  announced  to  the 
assembled  nations  that  their  good  French  Father  felt  an  abiding  interest  in  their 
welfare,  and  had  placed  them  all  under  the  powerful  protection  of  the  French 
Government. 

Marquette,  during  that  same  year,  had  gathered  at  Point  St.  Ignace  the 
i-emn  ants  of  one  branch  of  the  Hurons.  This  station,  for  a  long  series  of 
years,  was  considered  the  key  to  the  unknown  West. 

The  time  was  now  auspicious  for  the  consummation  of  Marquette's  grand 
project.  The  successful  termination  of  Perrot's  mission,  and  the  general  friend- 
liness of  the  native  tribes,  rendered  the  contemplated  expedition  much  less  per- 
ilous. But  it  was  not  until  1673  that  the  intrepid  and  enthusiastic  priest  was 
finally  ready  to  depart  on  his  daring  and  perilous  journey  to  lands  never  trod  by 
white  men. 

The  Indians,  who  had  gathered  in  large  numbers  to  witness  his  departure; 
were  astounded  at  the  boldness  of  the  proposed  undertaking,  and  tried  to  dis- 
courage him,  representing  that  the  Indians  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  were  cruel 
and  bloodthirsty,  and  would  resent  the  intrusion  of  strangers  upon  their  domain. 
The  great  river  itself,  they  said,  was  the  abode  of  terrible  monsters,  who  could 
swallow  both  canoes  and  men. 

But  Marquette  was  not  to  be  diverted  from  his  purpose  by  these  fearful  re- 
ports. He  assured  his  dusky  friends  that  he  was  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice, 
even  to  lay  down  his  life  for  the  sacred  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged.  He 
prayed  with  them  ;  and  having  implored  the  blessing  of  God  upon  his  undertak- 
ing, on  the  13th  day  of  May,  1673,  with  Joliet  and  five  Canadian-French  voy- 
-ageurs,  or  boatmen,  he  ieft  the  mission  on  his  daring  journey.  Ascending 
Green  Bay  and  Fox  River,  these  bold  and  enthusiastic  pioneers  of  religion  and 
discovery  proceeded  until  they  reached  a  Miami  and  Kickapoo  village,  where 
Marquette  was  delighted  to  find  "  a  beautiful  cross  planted  in  the  middle  of  the 
town,  ornamented  with  white  skins,  red  girdles  and  boAvs  and  arrows,  which 
these  good  people  had  offered  to  the  Great  Manitou,  or  God,  to  thank  Him  for 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  141 

the  pity  He  had  bestowed  on  them  during  the  Winter,  in  having  given  them 
abundant  chase." 

This  was  the  extreme  point  beyond  which  the  explorations  of  the  French 
missionaries  had  not  then  extended.  Here  Marquette  was  instructed  by  his 
Indian  hosts  in  the  secret  of  a  root  that  cures  the  bite,  of  the  venomous  rattle- 
snake, drank  mineral  water  with  them  and  was  entertained  with  generous  hos- 
pitality. He  called  together  the  principal  men  of  the  village,  and  informed 
them  that  his  companion,  Joliet,  had  been  sent  by  the  French  Governor  of  Can- 
ada to  discover  new  countries,  to  be  added  to  the  dominion  of  France  ;  but  that 
he,  himself,  had  been  sent  by  the  Most  High  God,  to  carry  the  glorious  religion 
•of  the  Cross ;  and  assured  his  wondering  hearers  that  on  this  mission  he  had 
no  fear  of  death,  to  which  he  knew  he  would  be  exposed  on  his  perilous  journeys. 

Obtaining  the  services  of  two  Miami  guides,  to  conduct  his  little  band  to  the 
Wisconsin  River,  he  left  the  hospitable  Indians  on  the  10th  of  June.  Conduct- 
ing them  across  the  portage,  their  Indian  guides  returned  to  their  village,  and 
the  little  party  descended  the  Wisconsin,  to  the  great  river  which  had  so  long 
been  so  anxiously  looked  for,  and  boldly  floated  down  its  unknown  waters. 

On  the  25th  of  June,  the  explorers  discovered  indications  of  Indians  on  the 
■west  bank  of  the  river  and  land  -d  a  little  above  the  mouth  of  the  river  now 
known  as  Des  Moines,  and  for  the  first  time  Europeans  trod  the  soil  of  Iowa. 
Leaving  the  Canadians  to  guard  the  canoes,  Marquette  and  Joliet  boldly  fol- 
lowed the  trail  into  the  interior  for  fourteen  miles  (some  authorities  say  six),  to 
an  Indian  village  situate  on  the  banks  of  a  river,  and  discovered  two  other  vil- 
lages, on  the  rising  ground  about  half  a  league  distant.  Their  visit,  while  it 
created  much  astonishment,  did  not  seem  to  be  entirely  unexpected,  for  there 
was  a  tradition  or  prophecy  among  the  Indians  that  white  visitors  were  to  come 
to  them.  They  were,  therefore,  received  with  great  respect  and  hospitality,  and 
were  cordially  tendered  the  calumet  or  pipe  of  peace.  They  were  informed  that 
this  band  was  a  part  of  the  Illini  nation  and  that  their  village  was  called  Mon- 
in-gou-ma  or  Moingona,  which  was  the  name  of  the  river  on  which  it  stood. 
This,  from  its  similarity  of  sound,  Marquette  corrupted  into  Des  Moines 
(Monk's  River),  its  present  name. 

Here  the  voyagers  remained  six  days,  learning  much  of  the  manners  and 
customs  of  their  new  friends.  The  new  religion  they  boldly  preached  and  the 
authority  of  the  King  of  France  they  proclaimed  were  received  without  hos- 
tility or  remonstrance  by  their  savage  entertainers.  On  their  departure,  they 
were  accompanied  to  their  canoes  by  the  chiefs  and  hundreds  of  warriors. 
Marquette  received  from  them  the  sacred  calumet,  the  emblem  of  peace  and 
safeguard  among  the  nations,  and  re-embarked  for  the  rest  of  his  journey. 

It  is  needless  to  follow  him  further,  as  his  explorations  beyond  his  discovery 
of  Iowa  more  properly  belong  to  the  history  of  another  State. 

In  1682,  La  Salle  descended  the  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  in 
the  name  of  the  King  of  France,  took  formal  possession  of  all  the  immense 
region  watered  by  the  great  river  and  its  tributaries  from  its  source  to  its  mouth, 
and  named  it  Louisiana,  in  honor  of  his  master,  Louis  XIY.  The  river  he 
called  "  Colbert,"  after  the  French  Minister,  and  at  its  mouth  erected  a  column 
and  a  cross  bearing  the  inscription,  in  the  French  language, 

"Louis  the  Great,  King  of  France  and  Navarre, 
Reigning  April   9th,  1682." 

At  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  France  claimed,  by  right  of  dis- 
covery and  occupancy,  the  whole  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries, 
including  Texas,  as  far  as  the  Rio  del  Norte. 


142  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA 

The  province  of  Louisiana  stretched  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  sources 
of  the  Tennessee,  the  Kanawha,  the  Allegheny  and  the  Monongahela  on  the 
east,  and  the  Missouri  and  the  other  great  tributaries  of  the  Father  of  Waters- 
on  the  west.  Says  Bancroft,  "  France  had  obtained,  under  Providence,  the 
guardianship  of  this  immense  district  of  country,  not,  as  it  proved,  for  her  own 
benefit,  but  rather  as  a  trustee  for  the  infant  nation  by  which  it  was  one  day  to- 
be  inherited." 

By  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  France  ceded  to  England  her  possessions 
in  Hudson's  Ba,y,  Newfoundland  and  Nova  Scotia.  France  still  retained 
Louisiana ;  but  the  province  had  so  far  failed  to  meet  the  expectations  of  the 
crown  and  the  people  that  a  change  in  the  government  and  policy  of  the  country 
was  deemed  indispensable.  Accordingly,  in  1711,  the  province  was  placed  in 
the  hands  of  a  Governor  General,  with  headquarters  at  Mobile.  This  govern- 
ment was  of  brief  duration,  and  in  1712  a  charter  was  granted  to  Anthony 
Crozat,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  Paris,  giving  him  the  entire  control  and  mo- 
nopoly of  all  the  trade  and  resources  of  Louisiana.  But  this  scheme  also  failed. 
Crozat  met  with  no  success  in  his  commercial  operations  ;  every  Spanish  harbor 
on  the  Gulf  was  closed  against  his  vessels  ;  the  occupation  of  Louisiana  was 
deemed  an  encroachment  on  Spanish  territory  ;  Spain  was  jealous  of  the  am- 
bition of  France. 

Failing  in  his  efforts  to  open  the  ports  of  the  district,  Crozat  "sought  ta 
develop  the  internal  resources  of  Louisiana,  by  causing  trading  posts  to  be 
opened,  and  explorations  to  be  made  to  its  remotest  borders.  But  he 
actually  accomplished  nothing  for  the  advancement  of  the  colony.  The  only 
prosperity  which  it  ever  possessed  grew  out  of  the  enterprise  of  humble  indi- 
viduals, who  had  succeeded  in  instituting  a  little  barter  bjtwe^n  themselves 
and  the  natives,  and  a  petty  trade  with  neighboring  European  settlements. 
After  a  persevering  effort  of  nearly  five  years,  he  surrendered  his  charter  in 
August,  1717." 

Immediately  following  the  surrender  of  his  charter  by  Crozat,  another  and 
more  magnificent  scheme  was  inaugurated.  The  national  government  of  France 
was  deeply  involved  in  debt ;  the  colonies  were  nearly  bankrupt,  and  John  Law 
appeared  on  the  scene  with  his  famous  Mississippi  Company,  as  the  Louisiana 
branch  of  the  Bank  of  France.  The  charter  granted  to  this  company  gave  it  a. 
legal  existence  of  twenty-five  years,  and  conferred  upon  it  more  extensive  powers, 
and  privileges  than  had  been  granted  to  Crozat.  It  invested  the  new  company 
with  the  exclusive  privilege  of  the  entire  commerce  of  Louisiana,  and  of  New 
France,  and  with  authority  to  enforce  their  rights.  The  Company  was  author- 
ized to  monopolize  all  the  trade  in  the  country ;  to  make  treaties  with  the 
Indians ;  to  declare  and  prosecute  war  ;  to  grant  lands,  erect  forts,  open  mines 
of  precious  metals,  levy  taxes,  nominate  civil  officers,  commission  those  of  the 
army,  and  to  appoint  and  remove  judges,  to  cast  cannon,  and  build  and  equip 
ships  of  war.  All  this  was  to  be  done  with  the  paper  currency  of  John  Law's 
Bank  of  France.  He  had  succeeded  in  getting  His  Majesty  the  French  King 
to  adopt  and  sanction  his  scheme  of  financial  operations  both  in  France  and  in 
the  colonies,  and  probably  there  never  was  such  a  huge  financial  bubble  ever 
blown  by  a  visionary  theorist.  Still,  such  was  the  condition  of  France  that  it 
was  accepted  as  a  national  deliverance,  and  Law  became  the  most  powerful  man 
in  France.  He  became  a  Catholic,  and  was  appointed  Comptroller  General  of 
Finance. 

Among  the  first  operations  of  the  Company  was  to  send  eight  hundred 
emigrants  to  Louisiana,  who  arrived  at  Dauphine  Island  in  1718. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  143 

In  1719,  Philipe  Francis  Renault  arrived  in  Illinois  with  two  hundred 
miners  and  artisans.  The  war  between  France  and  Spain  at  this  time  rendered 
it  extremely  probable  that  the  Mississippi  Valley  might  become  the  theater  of 
Spanish  hostilities  against  the  French  settlements  ;  to  prevent  this,  as  well  as  to 
extend  French  claims,  a  chain  of  forts  was  begun,  to  keep  open  the  connection 
between  the  mouth  and  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi.  Fort  Orleans,  high  up 
the  Mississippi  River,  was  erected  as  an  outpost  in  1720. 

The  Mississippi  scheme  was  at  the  zenith  of  its  power  and  glory  in  January, 
1720,  but  the  gigantic  bubble  collapsed  more  suddenly  than  it  had  been  inflated, 
and  the  Company  was  declared  hopelessly  bankrupt  in  May  following.  France 
was  impoverished  by  it,  both  private  and  public  credit  Avere  overthrown,  capi- 
talists suddenly  found  themselves  paupers,  and  labor  was  left  without  employ- 
ment.     The  effect  on  the  colony  of  Louisiana  was  disastrous. 

While  this  Avas  going  on  in  Lower  Louisiana,  the  region  about  the  lakes  was 
the  theater  of  Indian  hostilities,  rendering  the  passage  from  Canada  to  Louisiana 
extremely  dangerous  for  many  years.  The  English  had  not  only  extended  their 
Indian  trade  into  the  vicinity  of  the  French  settlements,  but  through  their 
friends,  the  Iroquois,  had  gained  a  marked  ascendancy  over  the  Foxes,  a  fierce 
and  powerful  tribe,  of  Iroquois  descent,  whom  they  incited  to  hostilities  against 
the  French.  The  Foxes  began  their  hostilities  with  the  siege  of  Detroit  in 
1712,  a  siege  which  they  continued  for  nineteen  consecutive  days,  and  although 
the  expedition  resulted  in  diminishing  their  numbers  and  humbling  their  pride, 
yet  it  was  not  until  after  several  successive  campaigns,  embodying  the  best 
military  resources  of  New  France,  had  been  directed  against  them,  that  were 
finally  defeated  at  the  great  battles  of  Butte  des  Morts,  and  on  the  Wisconsin 
River,  and  driven  Avest  in  1746. 

The  Company,  having  found  that  the  cost  of  defending  Louisiana  exceeded 
the  returns  from  its  commerce,  solicited  leave  to  surrender  the  Mississippi 
wilderness  to  the  home  government.  Accordingly,  on  the  10th  of  April,  1732, 
the  jurisdiction  and  control  over  the  commerce  reverted  to  the  crown  of  France. 
The  Company  had  held  jDossession  of  Louisiana  fourteen  years.  In  1735,  Bien- 
ville returned  to  assume  command  for  the  King. 

A  glance  at  a  few  of  the  old  French  settlements  will  show  the  progress  made 
in  portions  of  Louisiana  during  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  As 
early  as  1705,  traders  and  hunters  had  penetrated  the  fertile  regions  of  the 
Wabash,  and  from  this  region,  at  that  early  date,  fifteen  thousand  hides  and 
skins  had  been  collected  and  sent  to  Mobile  for  the  European  market. 

In  the  year  1716,  the  French  population  on  the  Wabash  kept  up  a  lucrative 
commerce  with  Mobile  by  means  of  traders  and  voyageurs.  The  Ohio  River 
was  comparatively  unknown. 

In  1746,  agriculture  on  the  Wabash  had  attained  to  greater  prosperity  than 
in  any  of  the  French  settlements  besides,  and  in  that  year  six  hundred  barrels 
of  flour  were  manufactured  and  shipped  to  New  Orleans,  together  with  consider- 
able quantities  of  hides,  peltry,  tallow  and  beeswax. 

In  the  Illinois  country,  also,  considerable  settlements  had  been  made,  so  that, 
in  1730,  they  embraced  one  hundred  and  forty  French  families,  about  six 
hundred  "converted  Indians,"  and  many  traders  and  voyageurs. 

In  1753,  the  first  actual  conflict  arose  between  Louisiana  and  the  Atlantic 
colonies.  From  the  earliest  advent  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  up  to  the  period  of 
which  we  speak,  the  great  ambition  of  the  French  had  been,  not  alone  to  preserA^e 
their  possessions  in  the  West,  but  by  every  possible  means  to  prevent  the 
slightest  attempt  of  the  English,  east  of  the  mountains,  to  extend  their  settle- 


144  HISTOKY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

ments  toward  the  Mississippi.  France  was  resolved  on  retaining  possession  of 
the  great  territory  which  her  missionaries  had  discovered  and  revealed  to  the 
world.  French  commandants  had  avowed  rheir  purpose  of  seizing  every 
Englishman  within  the  Ohio  Valley. 

The  colonies  of  Penn.sylvania,  New  York  and  Virginia  were  most  aftected  bv 
the  encroachments  of  France  in  the  extension  of  her  dominion,  and  particularly 
in  the  great  scheme  of  uniting  Canada  with  Louisiana.  To  carry  out  this 
purpose,  the  French  had  taken  possession  of  a  tract  of  country  claimed  by  Vir- 
ginia, and  had  commenced  a  line  of  forts  extending  from  the  lakes  to  the  Ohio- 
River.  Virginia  was  not  only  alive  to  her  own  interests,  but  attentive  to  the 
vast  importance  of  an  immediate  and  eflectual  resistance  on  the  part  of  all 
the  English  colonies  to  the  actual  and  contemplated  encroachments  of  the 
French. 

In  17C3,  Goventor  Diuwiddie.  of  Virginia,  sent  George  "Washington,  then  a 
young  man  just  twenty-one,  to  demand  of  the  French  commandant  "  a  reason 
for  invading  British  dominions  while  a  solid  peace  subsisted."  Washington  met 
the  French  commandant,  Gardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
Alleghany,  and  having  communicated  to  him  the  object  of  his  journey,  received 
the  insolent  answer  that  the  French  would  not  discuss  the  matter  of  right,  but 
would  make  prisoners  of  every  Englishman  found  trading  on  the  Ohio  and  its 
waters.  The  country,  he  said,  belonged  to  the  French,  by  virtue  of  the  dis- 
coveries of  La  Salle,  and  they  would  not  withdraw  from  it. 

In  January,  1754,  Washington  returned  to  Virginia,  and  made  his  report  to 
the  Governor  and  Council.  Forces  were  at  once  raised,  and  Washington,  as 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  was  dispatched  at  the  head  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  to 
the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  Avith  orders  to  "finish  the  fort  already  begun  there  by  the 
Ohio  Cuuipany,  and  to  make  prisoners,  kill  or  destroy  all  who  interrupted  the 
English  settlements." 

On  his  march  through  the  forests  of  Western  Pennsylvania.  Washington, 
through  the  aid  of  friendly  Lidians,  discovered  the  French  concealed  among  the 
rocks,  and  as  they  van  to  seize  their  arms,  ordered  his  men  to  fire  upon  them,  at 
the  same  time,  with  his  own  musket,  setting  the  example.  An  action  ^lasting 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ensued;  ten  of  the  Frenchmen  were  killed,  among 
them  Jumonville,  the  commander  of  the  party,  and  twenty-one  were  made  pris- 
oners. The  dead  were  scalped  by  the  Indians,  and  the  chief,  bearing  a  toma- 
hawk and  a  scalp,  visited  all  the  tribes  of  the  Miamis,  urging  them  to  join  the 
Six  Nations  and  the  English  against  the  French.  The  French,  however,  were 
soon  re-enforced,  and  Col.  Washington  was  compelled  to  return  to  Fort 
Necessity.  Here,  on  the  od  day  of  July,  De  Villiers  invested  the  fort  with 
600  French  troops  and  100  Indians.  On  the  4th.  Washington  accepted 
terms  of  capitulation,  and  the  English  garrison  withdrew  from  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio. 

This  attack  of  Washington  upon  Jumonville  arouseil  the  indignation  of 
France,  and  war  was  formally  declared  in  May,  1T5G,  and  the  "French  and 
Indian  War"'  devastated  the  colonies  for  several  years.  Montreal,  Detroit 
and  all  Canada  were  surrendered  to  the  English,  and  on  the  10th  of  February. 
1763,  by  the  treaty  of  Paris — which  had  been  signed,  though  not  formally  ratified 
by  the  respective  governments,  on  the  3d  of  November.  1 762 — France  relinquished 
to  Great  Britian  all  that  portion  of  the  p^rovince  of  Louisiana  lying  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Mississippi,  except  the  island  and  town  of  New  Orleans.  On  the 
same  day  that  the  treaty  of  Paris  was  signed,  France,  by  a  secret  treaty,  ceded 
to  Spain  all  her  possessions  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  including  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  145 

whole  country  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Great  River,  and  west  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  the  jurisdiction  of  France  in  America,  which  had  lasted  nearly 
a  century,  was  ended. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  by  the  treaty  of  peace  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States,  the  English  Government  ceded  to  the  latter 
all  the  territory  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  River  and  north  of  the  thirty- 
first  parallel  of  north  latitude.  At  the  same  time,  Great  Britain  ceded  to 
Spain  all  the  Floridas,  comprising  all  the  territory  east  of  tlie  Mississippi  and 
south  of  the  southern  limits  of  the  United  States. 

At  this  time,  therefore,  the  present  State  of  Iowa  was  a  part  of  the  Spanish 
possessions  in  North  America,  as  all  the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  River 
was  under  the  dominion  of  Spain.  That  government  also  possessed  all  the 
territory  of  the  Floridas  east  of  the  great  river  and  south  of  the  thirty-first 
parallel  of  north  latitude.  The  Mississippi,  therefore,  so  essential  to  the  pros- 
perity of  the  western  portion  of  the  United  States,  for  the  last  three  hundred 
miles  of  its  course  flowed  wholly  within  the  Spanish  dominions,  and  that  govern- 
ment claimed  the  exclusive  right  to  use  and  control  it  below  the  southern  boun- 
dary of  the  United  States. 

The  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  was  a  very  important  question  during 
all  the  time  that  Louisiana  remained  a  dependency  of  the  Spanish  Crown,  and 
as  the  final  settlement  intimately  affected  the  status  of  the  then  future  State 
of  Iowa,  it  will  be  interesting  to  trace  its  progress. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  occupied  and  exercised  jurisdiction  over 
the  entire  eastern  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  embracing  all  the  country  drained 
by  its  eastern  tributaries  ;  they  had  a  natural  right,  according  to  the  accepted  in- 
ternational law,  to  follow  these  rivers  to  the  sea,  and  to  the  use  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River  accordingly,  as  the  great  natural  channel  of  commerce.  The  river 
was  not  only  necessary  but  absolutely  indispensable  to  the  prosperity  and  growth 
of  the  western  settlements  then  rapidly  rising  into  commercial  and  political 
importance.  They  were  situated  in  the  heart  of  the  great  valley,  and  with 
wonderfully  expansive  energies  and  accumulating  resources,  it  was  very  evident 
that  no  power  on  earth  could  deprive  them  of  the  free  use  of  the  river  below 
them,  only  Avhile  their  numbers  were  insufiicient  to  enable  them  to  maintain 
their  right  by  force.  Inevitably,  therefore,  immediately  after  the  ratification  of 
the  treaty  of  1783,  the  Western  people  began  to  demand  the  free  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi — not  as  a  favor,  but  "as  a  right.  In  1786,  both  banks  of 
the  river,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  were  occupied  by  Spain,  and  military 
posts  on  the  east  bank  enforced  her  power  to  exact  heavy  duties  on  all  im- 
ports by  way  of  the  river  for  the  Ohio  region.  Every  boat  descending  the 
river  was  forced  to  land  and  submit  to  the  arbitrary  revenue  exactions  of  the 
Spanish  authorities.  Under  the  administration  of  Governor  Miro,  these  rigor- 
ous exactions  were  someAvhat  relaxed  from  1787  to  1790  ;  but  Spain  held  it  as 
her  I'ight  to  make  them.  Taking  advantage  of  the  claim  of  tlie  American  people, 
that  the  Mississippi  should  be  opened  to  them,  in  1791,  the  Spanish  Govern- 
ment concocted  a  scheme  for  the  dismerabership  of  the  Union.  The  plan  was 
to  induce  the  Western  people  to  separate  from  the  Eastern  States  by  liberal  land 
grants  and  extraordinary  commercial  privileges. 

Spanish  emissaries,  among  the  people  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  informed  them 
that  the  Spanish  Government  would  grant  them  fiivorable  commercial  privileges, 
provided,  they  would  secede  from  the  Federal  Government  east  of  the  mountains. 
The  Spanish  Minister  to  the  United  States  plainly  declared  to  his  confidential 
correspondent  that,  unless  the  Western  people  Avould  declare  their  independence 


T4G  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

■^nd  refuse  to  remain  in  the  Union.  Spain  -was  determined  never  to  i:;rant  the 
free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 

By  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  Oetober  '20,  179o.  however.  Spain  formally  stip- 
ulated that  the  31ississippi  l\iver.  from  its  souree  to  the  Gnlf,  for  its  entire  -width, 
should  be  free  to  American  trade  and  commerce,  and  that  the  people  of  the 
United  States  should  be  permitted,  for  three  years,  to  use  the  port  of  New 
Orleans  as  a  port  of  deposit  for  their  merchandise  and  produce,  duty  free. 

In  November.  ISOl.  the  United  States  Government  received,  through  Kufus 
King,  its  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  a  copy  of  the  treaty  between  Spain 
and  France,  signed  at  Madrid  March  21,  1801,  by  Avhich  the  cession  ot^  Loui- 
siana to  France,  made  the  previous  Atitumn,  -was  contirmed. 

The  change  oftered  a  tavorable  opportunity  to  secure  the  just  rights  of  the 
United  States,  in  relation  to  the  tree  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  ended 
the  attempt  to  dismember  the  Union  by  an  effort  to  secure  an  independent 
government  Avest  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  vbi  the  Ttli  of  January.  1S08, 
the  American  House  of  Eepresentatives  adopted  a  resolution  declaring  their 
**  unalterable  determination  to  maintain' the  boundaries  and  the  rights  of  navi- 
gation and  commerce  through  the  Eiver  ISIississippi.  as  established  by  existing 
treaties." 

In  the  same  month.  President  Jefferson  nominated  and  the  Senate  contirmed 
Robert  R.  Livingston  and  James  Monroe  as  Envoys  Plenipotentiary  to  the 
Court  of  France,  and  Charles  Pinckney  and  James  *  Monroe  to  the  Court  of 
Spain,  -with  plenary  powers  to  negotiate  treaties  to  effect  the  object  enunciated 
by  the  popular  branch  of  the  National  Legislature.  These  envoys  were  in- 
structed to  secure,  if  possible,  the  cession  of  Florida  and  New  Orleans,  but  it 
does  not  appear  that  Mr.  Jefferson  and  his  Cabinet  had  any  idea  of  purchasing 
that  part  of  Louisiana  lying  on  the  ivcsf  side  of  the  Mississippi.  In  tact,  on 
the  2d  of  March  following,  the  instructions  were  sent  to  our  Ministers,  contain- 
ing a  plan  -which  expressly  left  to  France  "all  her  territory  on  the  -west  side  of 
the  Mississippi.''  Had  these  instructions  been  followed,  it  might  have  been  that 
there  would  not  have  been  any  State  of  Iowa  or  any  other  member  of  the  glori- 
ous Union  of  States  west  of  the  "Father  of  Waters." 

In  obedience  to  his  instructions,  however,  3Ir.  Livingston  broached  this 
plan  to  M.  Talleyrand.  Napoleon's  Prime  Minister,  when  that  courtly  diplo- 
matist quietly  suggested  to  the  American  Minister  that  France  might  be  willing 
to  cede  the  wJioh'  French  domain  in  North  America  to  the  United  States,  and 
asked  how  much  the  Federal  Government  would  be  willing  to  give  for  it.  Liv- 
ingston intimated  that  twenty  millions  of  francs  might  be  a  lair  price.  Talley- 
rand thotight  that  not  enough,  but  asked  the  Americans  to  "  think  of  it."'  A 
few  days  later.  Napoleon,  in  an  interview  with  Mr.  Livingston,  in  effect  informed 
the  American  Envoy  that  he  had  secured  Louisiana  in  a  contnict  with  Spain 
for  the  purpose  of  turning  it  over  to  the  United  States  for  a  mere  nominal  sum. 
He  had  been  compelled  to  provide  for  the  safety  of  that  province  by  the  treaty, 
and  he  was  *'  anxious  to  give  the  United  States  a  magniticent  barg-ain  for  a 
mere  trifle."  The  price  proposed  was  one  hundred  and  tweuty-tive  million 
francs.  This  was  subsequently  modified  to  fifteen  million  dollars,  and  on  this 
basis  a  treaty  was  negotiated,  and  was  signed  on  the  30th  day  of  April,  iSOo. 

This  treaty  was  ratified  by  the  Federal  Government,  and  by  act  of  Congress, 
approved  October  31,  1S03,  the  President  of  the  United  States  was  authorized 
to  take  possession  of  the  territory  and  provide  for  it  a  temporary  government. 
Accordingly,  on  the  20th  day  of  December  foil  nving,  on  behalf  of  the  Presi- 
dent. Gov.  Clairborne  and   Gen.  Wilkinson   took  possession  of  the  Louisiana 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  147 

purchase,  and  raised  the  American  flag  over  tlie  newly  acquired  domain,  at  New 
Orleans.  Spain,  although  it  had  by  treaty  ceded  the  province  to  France  in 
1801,  still  held  quasi  possession,  and  at  first  objected  to  the  transfer,  but  with- 
drew her  opposition  early  in  1804. 

By  this  treaty,  thus  successfull_y  consummated,  and  the  peaceable  withdrawal 
of  Spain,  the  then  infant  nation  of  the  New  World  extended  its  dominion  west 
of  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  nortii  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to 
British  America. 

If  the  original  design  of  Jefferson's  administration  had  been  accomplished, 
the  United  States  would  have  acquired  only  that  portion  of  the  French  territory 
lying  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  and  while  the  American  people  would  thus 
have  acquired  the  free  navigation  of  that  great  river,  all  of  the  vast  and  fertile 
empire  on  the  west,  so  rich  in  its  agricultural  and  inexhaustible  mineral 
resources,  would  have  remained  under  the  dominion  of  a  foreign  power.  To 
Napoleon's  desire  to  sell  the  whole  of  his  North  American  possessions,  and  Liv- 
ingston's act  transcending  his  instructions,  which  was  acquiesced  in  after  it  w^as 
done,  docs  Iowa  owe  her  position  as  a  part  of  the  United  States  by  the 
Louisiana  purchase. 

By  authority  of  an  act  of  Congress,  approved  March  26,  1804,  the  newly 
acquired  territory  was,  on  the  1st  day  of  October  following,  divided :  that  part 
lying  south  of  the  33d  parallel  of  north  latitude  was  called  the  Territory  of 
Orleans,  and  all  north  of  that  parallel  the  District  of  Louisiana,  which  was  placed 
under  the  authority  of  the  officers  of  Indiana  Territory,  until  July  4, 1805,  when 
it  was  organized,  with  territorial  government  of  its  own,  and  so  remained  until 
1812,  when  the  Territory  of  Orleans  became  the  State  of  Louisiana,  and  the 
name  of  the  Territory  of  Louisiana  was  changed  to  Missouri.  On  the  4th  of 
July,  1814,  that  part  of  Missouri  Territory  comprising  the  present  State  of 
Arkansas,  and  the  country  to  the  westwartl,  Avas  organized  into  the  Arkansas 
Territory. 

On  the  2d  of  March,  1821,  the  State  of  Missouri,  being  a  part  of  the  Terri- 
tory of  that  name,  was  admitted  to  the  Union.  June  28,  1834,  the  territory 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River  and  north  of  Missouri  was  made  a  part  of  the 
Territory  of  Michigan ;  but  two  years  later,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1836,  Wiscon- 
sin Territory  was  erected,  embracing  within  its  limits  the  present  States  of 
Iowa,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota. 

By  act  of  Congress,  approved  June  12,  1838,  the 

TERRITORY    OP    IOWA 

was  erected,  comprising,  in  addition  to  the  present  State,  much  the  larger  part 
of  Minnesota,  and  extending  north  to  the  boundary  of  the  British  Possessions. 

THE    ORIGINAL  OWNERS. 

Having  traced  the  early  history  of  the  great  empire  lying  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, of  which  the  State  of  Iowa  constitutes  a  part,  from  the  earliest  dis- 
covery to  the  organization  of  the  Tei'ritory  of  Iowa,  it  becomes  necessary  to 
give  some  history  of 

THE    INDIANS    OP   IOWA. 

According  to  the  policy  of  the  Eui'opean  nations,  possession  perfected  title 
to  any  territory.  We  have  seen  that  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  was  first 
discovered  by  the  Spaniards,  but  afterward,  was  visited  and  occupied  by  the 
French.     It  was  ceded  by  France  to  Spain,  and  by  Spain  back  to  France  again, 


148  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

and  then  was  purchased  and  occupied  by  the  United  States.  During  all  that 
time,  it  does  not  appear  to  have  entered  into  the  heads  or  hearts  of  the  high 
contracting  parties  that  the  country  they  bought,  sold  and  gave  away  was  in 
the  possession  of  a  race  of  men  who,  although  savage,  owned  the  vast  domain 
before  Columbus  first  crossed  the  Atlantic.  Having  purchased  the  territory, 
the  United  States  found  it  still  in  the  possession  of  its  original  owners,  who  had 
never  been  dispossessed ;  and  it  became  necessary  to  purchase  again  what  had 
already  been  bought  before,  or  forcibly  eject  the  occupants;  therefore,  the  his- 
tory of  the  Indian  nations  who  occupied  Iowa  prior  to  and  during  its  early  set- 
tlement by  the  whites,  becomes  an  important  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  State, 
that  cannot  be  omitted. 

For  more  than  one  hundred  years  after  Marquette  and  Joliet  trod  the  virgin 
soil  of  Iowa,  not  a  single  settlement  had  been  made  or  attempted ;  not  even  a 
trading  post  liad  been  established.  The  whole  country  remained  in  the  undis- 
puted possession  of  the  native  tribes,  who  roamed  at  will  over  her  beautiful  and 
fertile  prairies,  hunted  in  her  woods,  fished  in  her  streams,  and  often  poured  out 
their  life-blood  in  obstinately  contested  contests  for  supremacy.  That  this  State 
so  aptly  styled  "The  Beautiful  Land,"  had  been  the  theater  of  numerous, 
fierce  and  bloody  struggles  between  rival  nations,  for  possession  of  the  favored 
region,  long  before  its  settlement  by  civilized  man,  there  is  no  room  for  doubt. 
In  these  savage  wars,  the  weaker  party,  whether  aggressive  or  defensive,  was 
either  exterminated  or  driven  from  their  ancient  hunting  grounds. 

In  1673,  when  Marquette  discovered  Iowa,  the  Illini  were  a  very  powerful 
people,  occupying  a  large  portion  of  the  State ;  but  when  the  country  was  again 
visited  by  the  whites,  not  a  remnant  of  that  once  powerful  tribe  remained  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  and  Iowa  was  principally  in  the  possession  of 
the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  a  warlike  tribe  which,  originally  two  distinct  nations, 
residing  in  New  York  and  on  the  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  had  gradually 
fought  their  way  westward,  and  united,  probably,  after  the  Foxes  had  been  driven 
out  of  the  Fox  River  country,  in  1846,  and  crossed  the  Mississippi.  The  death 
of  Pontiac,  a  famous  Sac  chieftain,  was  made  the  pretext  for  war  against  the 
Illini,  and  a  fierce  and  bloody  struggle  ensued,  which  continued  until  the  Illinois 
were  nearty  destroyed  and  their  hunting  grounds  possessed  by  their  victorious 
foes.  The  lowas  also  occupied  a  portion  of  the  State  for  a  time,  in  common 
with  the  Sacs,  but  they,  too,  were  nearly  destroyed  by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and, 
in  "The  Beautiful  Land,"  these  natives  met  their  equally  warlike  foes,  the 
l^orthern  Sioux,  with  whom  they  niaintained  a  constant  Avarfare  for  the  posses- 
sion of  the  country  for  many  years. 

When  the  United  States  came  in  possession  of  the  great  valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, by  the  Louisiana  purchase,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  and  lowas  possessed 
the  entire  territory  now  comprising  the  State  of  Iowa.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes, 
also,  occupied  the  most  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 

The  Sacs  had  four  principal  villages,  where  most  of  them  resided,  viz. : 
Their  largest  and  most  important  town — if  an  Indian  village  may  be  called 
such — and  from  which  emanated  most  of  the  obstacles  and  difficulties  encoun- 
tered by  the  Government  in  the  extinguishment  of  Indian  titles  to  land  in  this 
region,  was  on  Rock  River,  near  Rock  Island ;  another  was  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  Mississippi,  near  the  mouth  of  Henderson  River ;  the  third  was  at  the 
head  of  the  Des  Moines  Rapids,  near  the  present  site  of  Montrose,  and  the  fourth 
was  near  the  mouth  of  the  Upper  Iowa. 

The  Foxes  had  three  principal  villages,  viz. :  One  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Mississippi,  six  miles  above  the  rapids  of  Rock  River ;  another  about  twelve 


HISTORY  OF  TFIE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  149 

miles  from  the  river,  in  the  rear  of  the  Dubuque  lead  mines,  and  the  third  on 
Turkey  River. 

The  lowas,  at  one  time  identified  with  the  Sacs,  of  Rock  River,  had  with- 
drawn from  them  and  become  a  separate  tribe.  Their  principal  village  was  on 
the  Des  J\foines  River,  in  Van  Buren  County,  on  the  site  where  lowaville  now 
stands.  Here  the  last  great  battle  between  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  and  the  lowas 
was  fought,  in  Avhich  Black  Hawk,  then  a  young  man,  commanded  one  division 
of  the  attacking  forces.     The  following  account  of  the  battle  has  been  given : 

'•  Contrary  to  long  established  custom  of  Indian  attack,  this  battle  was  commenced  in  the  day- 
time, the  attending  circumstances  justifying  this  departure  from  the  well  settled  usages  of  Indian 
warfare.  The  battle  field  was  a  level  river  bottom,  about  four  miles  in  length,  and  two  miles 
wide  near  the  middle,  narrowing  to  a  point  at  either  end.  The  main  area  of  this  bottom  rises 
perhaps  twenty  feet  above  the  river,  leaving  a  narrow  strip  of  low  bottom  along  the  shore,  covered 
with  trees  that  belted  the  prairie  on  the  river  side  with  a  thick  forest,  and  the  immediate  bank  of 
the  river  was  fringed  with  a  dense  growth  of  willows.  Near  the  lower  end  of  this  prairie,  near 
the  river  bank,  was  s'tuated  the  Iowa  village.  About  two  miles  above  it  and  near  the  middle  of 
the  prairie  is  a  mound,  covered  at  the  time  with  a  tuft  of  small  trees  and  underbrush  growino-  on 
its  summit.  In  the  rear  of  this  little  elevation  or  mound  lay  a  belt  of  wet  prairie,  covered,  at  that 
time,  with  a  dense  growth  of  rank,  coarse  grass.  Bordering  this  wet  prairie  on  the  north,  the 
country  rises  abruptly  into  elevated  broken  river  bluffs,  covered  with  a  heavy  forest  for  many 
miles  in  extent,  and  in  places  thickly  clustered  with  undergrowth,  affording  a  convenient  shelter 
for  the  stealthy  approach  of  the  foe. 

"  Through  this  forest  the  Sac  and  Fox  war  party  made  their  way  in  the  night  and  secreted 
themselves  in  the  tall  grass  spoken  of  above,  intending  to  remain  in  ambush  during  the  day  and 
make  such  observations  as  this  near  proximity  to  their  intended  victim  might  afford,  to  aid  them 
in  their  contemplated  attack  on  the  town  during  the  following  night.  From  this  situation  their 
spies  could  take  a  full  survey  of  the  village,  and  watch  every  movement  of  the  inhabitants,  by 
which  means  they  were  soon  convinced  that  the  lowas  had  no  suspicion  of  their  presence. 

"At  the  foot  of  themoundabovementioned,  the  lowas  had  their  race  course,  where  they  diverted 
themselves  with  the  excitement  of  horse  racing,  and  schooled  their  young  warriors  in  cavalry 
evolutions.  In  these  exercises  mock  battles  were  fought,  and  the  Indian  tactics  of  attack  and 
defense  carefully  inculcated,  by  which  meansaskill  in  horsemanship  was  acquired  rarely  excelled. 
Unfortunately  for  them  this  day  was  selected  for  their  equestrian  sports,  and  wholly  uncon- 
scious of  the  proximity  of  their  foes,  the  warriors  repaired  to  the  race  ground,  leaving  most  of 
their  arms  in  the  village  and  their  old  men  and  women  and  children  unprotected. 

"  Pash-a-po-po,  who  was  chief  in  command  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  perceived  at  once  the 
advantage  this  state  of  things  afforded  for  a  complete  surprise  of  his  now  doomed  victims,  and 
ordered  Black  Hawk  to  file  off  with  his  young  warriors  through  the  tall  grass  and  gain  the  cover 
of  the  timber  along  the  river  bank,  and  with  the  utmost  speed  reach  the  village  and  commence 
the  battle,  while  he  remained  with  his  division  in  the  ambush  to  make  a  simultaneous  as  ailt.  on 
the  unarmed  men  whose  attention  was  engrossed  with  the  excitement  of  the  races.  The  plan 
was  skillfully  laid  and  most  dexterously  executed.  Black  Hawk  with  his  forces  reaihed  the 
village  undiscovered,  and  made  a  furious  onslaught  upon  the  defenseless  inhabi  ants,  by  firino- 
one  general  volley  into  their  midst,  and  completing  the  slaughter  with  the  tomaha\vk  an  1  scalp- 
ing knife,  aided  by  the  devouring  fliames  with  which  they  enveloped  the  village  as  Sv.OJ  as  the 
fire  brand  could  be  spread  from  lodge  to  lodge. 

"On  the  instant  ot  the  report  of  firearms  at  the  village,  the  forces  under  Pash-i-po-po 
leaped  from  their  couthant  position  in  the  grass  and  sprang  tiger-like  upon  the  astonished  and 
unarmed  lowas  in  the  midst  of  their  r.icing  sports.  The  fir_-t  impulse  of  the  latter  natuially  led 
them  to  make  the  utmost  speed  toward  their  arms  in  the  village,  and  protect  if  possblo  their 
wives  and  ch  1  Iren  fi'om  the  attack  of  their  merciless  assaihmts.  The  distance  from  the  pi  :cj  of 
attack  on  the  prairie  was  two  miles,  and  a  great  number  fell  in  their  flight  by  the  liuUeis  and 
tomahawks  of  their  enemies,  who  pressed  them  closely  with  a  running  fire  the  whole  way.  and 
the  survivors  only  reached  their  town  in  time  to  witness  the  horrors  of  its  destriicti  m.  Their 
whole  vilLige  was  in  flames,  and  the  dearest  objects  of  their  lives  lay  in  slaught'r  d  heaps 
amidst  the  devouring  element,  anl  the  agonizing  groans  of  the  dying,  mingled  with  ih  ■  exti  tino- 
shouts  of  the  victorious  foe,  fille.l  their  hearts  with  maddening  despair.  Their  wives  an  I  children 
who  had  been  spared  the  general  massacre  were  prisoners,  ami  togeiher  with  theii-  arms  were  in 
the  hands  of  the  victors ;  and  all  that  could  now  be  done  was  to  draw  off  their  shaiterel  and 
defenseless  forces,  and  save  as  many  lives  as  possible  by  a  retreat  across  the  Des  Moiiie-s  River, 
which  they  effected  in  the  best  possible  manner,  and  took  a  position  among  the  Soap  Creek 
Hills." 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  prior  to  the  settlement  of  their  village  on  Rock  River, 
had  a  fierce  conflict  with  the  Winnebagoes,  subdued  them  and  took  Dossession 


150  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

of  their  lands.  Their  village  on  Rock  River,  at  one  time,  contained  upward  of 
sixty  lodges,  and  was  among  the  largest  Indian  villages  on  the  continent.  In 
1825,  the  Secretary  of  War  estimated  the  entire  number  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
at  4,600  souls.  Their  village  was  situated  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
upper  rapids  of  the  Mississippi,  where  the  beautiful  and  flourishing  towns  of 
Rock  Island  and  Davenport  are  now  situated.  The  beautiful  scenery  of  the 
island,  the  extensive  prairies,  dotted  over  with  groves ;  the  picturesque  blufts 
along  the  river  banks,  the  rich  and  fertile  soil,  producing  large  crops  of  corn, 
squash  and  other  vegetables,  with  little  labor ;  the  abundance  of  wild  fruit, 
game,  fish,  and  almost  everything  calculated  to  make  it  a  delightful  spot  for  an 
Indian  village,  which  was  found  there,  had  made  this  place  a  favorite  home  of 
the  Sacs,  and  secured  for  it  the  strong  attachment  and  veneration  of  the  whole 
nation. 

North  of  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  were  those  of  the 
Sioux,  a  fierce  and  warlike  nation,  who  ofcen  disputed  possession  with  their  ^ 
rivals  in  savage  and  bloody  warfare.  The  possessions  of  these  tribes  were 
mostly  located  in  Minnesota,  but  extended  over  a  portion  of  Northern  and 
Western  Iowa  to  the  Missouri  River.  Their  descent  from  the  north  upon  the 
hunting  grounds  of  Iowa  frequently  brought  them  into  collision  with  the  Sacs 
and  Foxes ;  and  after  many  a  conflict  and  bloody  struggle,  a  boundary  line  was 
established  between  them  by  the  Government  of  the  Uniteil  States,  in  a  treaty 
held  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  in  1825.  But  this,  instead  of  settling  the  difiiculties, 
caused  them  to  quarrel  all  the  more,  in  consequence  of  alleged  trespasses  upon 
each  other's  side  of  the  line.  These  contests  were  kept  up  and  became  so  unre- 
lenting that,  in  1830,  Government  bought  of  the  respective  tribes  of  the  Sacs 
and  Foxes,  and  the  Sioux,  a  strip  of  land  twenty  miles  in  width,  on  both  sides 
of  the  line,  and  thus  throwing  them  forty  miles  apart  by  creating  between  them 
a  "neutral  ground,"  commanded  them  to  cease  their  hostilities.  Both  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes  and  the  Sioux,  however,  were  allowed  to  fish  and  hunt  on  this 
ground  unmolested,  provided  they  did  not  interfere  with  each  other  on  United 
States  territory.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes  and  the  Sioux  were  deadly  enemies,  and 
neither  let  an  opportunity  to  punish  the  other  pass  unimproved. 

In  April,  1852,  a  fight  occurred  between  the  Musquaka  band  of  Sacs  and 
Foxes  and  a  band  of  Sioux,  about  six  miles  above  Algona,  in  Kossuth  County, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Des  Moines  River.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes  were  under 
the  leadership  of  Ko-ko-wah,  a  subordinate  chief,  and  had  gone  up  from  their 
home  in  Tama  County,  by  way  of  Clear  Lake,  to  what  was  then  the  "neutral 
ground."  At  Clear  Lake,  Ko-ko-wah  was  informed  that  a  party  of  Sioux  were 
encamped  on  the  west  side  of  the  East  Fork  of  the  Des  Moines,  and  he  deter- 
mined to  attack  them.  With  sixty  of  his  warriors,  he  started  and  arrived  at  a 
point  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  about  a  mile  above  the  Sioux  encampment, 
in  the  night,  and  concealed  themselves  in  a  grove,  where  they  were  able  to  dis- 
cover the  position  and  strength  of  their  hereditary  foes.  The  next  morning, 
after  many  of  the  Sioux  braves  had  left  their  camp  on  hunting  tours,  the  vin- 
dictive Sacs  and  Foxes  crossed  the  river  and  suddenly  attacked  the  camp.  The 
conflict  was  desperate  for  a  short  time,  but  the  advantage  was  with  the  assail- 
ants, and  the  Sioux  were  routed.  Sixteen  of  them,  including  some  of  their 
women  and  children,  were  killed,  and  a  boy  14  years  old  was  captured.  One 
of  the  Musquakas  was  shot  in  the  breast  by  a  squaw  as  they  were  rushing  into 
the  Sioux's  camp.  He  started  to  run  away,  when  the  same  brave  squaw  shot 
him  through  the  body,  at  a  distance  of  twenty  rods,  and  he  fell  dead.  Three 
other  Sac  braves  were  killed.     But  few  of  the  Sioux  escaped.      The  victorious 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  '  151 

4 

party  hurriedly  buried  their  own  dead,  leaving  the  dead  Sioux  above  ground, 
and  made  their  way  home,  wiih  their  captive,  with  all  possible  expedition. 

pike's   EXPEDITION. 

Very  soon  after  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  the  United  States  Government 
adopted  measures  for  the  exploration  of  the  ncAV  territory,  having  in  view  the 
conciliation  of  the  numerous  tribes  of  Indians  by  whom  it  was  possessed,  and, 
also,  the  selection  of  proper  sites  for  the  establishment  of  military  posts  and 
trading  stations.  The  Army  of  the  West,  Gen,  James  Wilkinson  commanding, 
had  its  headquarters  at  St.  Louis.  From  this  post.  Captains  Lewis  and  Clark, 
with  a  sufficient  force,  were  detailed  to  explore  the  unknoAvn  sources  of  the 
Missouri,  and  Lieut.  Zebulon  M.  Pike  to  ascend  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. Lieut.  Pike,  with  one  Sergeant,  two  Corporals  and  seventeen  privates, 
left  the  military  camp,  near  St.  Louis,  in  a  keel-boat,  with  four  months'  rations. 
on  the  9th  day  of  August,  1805.  On  the  20th  of  the  same  month,  the  expe- 
dition arrived  within  the  present  limits  of  Iowa,  at  the  foot  of  the  Des  Moines 
Rapids,  where  Pike  met  William  Ewing,  who  had  just  been  appointed  Indian 
Agent  at  this  point,  a  French  interpreter  and  four  chiefs  and  fifteen  Sac  and 
Fox  warriors. 

At  the  head  of  the  Rapids,  where  Montrose  is  now  situated.  Pike  held  a 
council  with  the  Indians,  in  which  he  addressed  them  substantially  as  follows : 
"Your  great  Father,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  wished  to  be  more 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  situation  and  wants  of  the  different  nations  of 
red  people  in  our  newlv  acquired  territory  of  Louisiana,  and  has  ordered  the 
General  to  send  a  number  of  his  warriors  in  different  directions  to  take  them  by 
the  hand  and  make  such  inquiries  as  might  afford  the  satisfaction  required." 
At  the  close  of  the  council  he  presented  the  red  men  with  some  knives,  whisky 
and  tobacco. 

Pursuing  his  way  up  the  river,  he  arrived,  on  the  23d  of  August,  at  what  is 
supposed,  from  his  description,  to  be  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Burlington, 
which  he  selected  as  the  location  of  a  military  post.  He  describes  the  place  as 
being  "  on  a  hill,  about  forty  miles  above  the  River  de  Moyne  Rapids,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  in  latitude  about  41°  21'  north.  The  channel  of  the 
river  runs  on  that  shore ;  the  hill  in  front  is  about  sixty  feet  perpendicular ; 
nearly  level  on  top ;  four  hundred  yards  in  the  rear  is  a  small  prairie  fit  for 
gardening,  and  immediately  under  the  hill  is  a  limestone  spring,  sufficient  for 
the  consumption  of  a  whole  regiment."  In  addition  to  this  description,  which 
corresponds  to  Burlington,  the  spot  is  laid  down  on  his  map  at  a  bend  in  the 
river,  a  short  distance  below  tbe  mouth  of  the  Henderson,  Avhich  pours  its  waters 
into  the  Mississippi  from  Illinois.  The  fort  was  biult  at  Fort  Madison,  but  from 
the  distance,  latitude,  description  and  map  furnished  by  Pike,  it  could  not  have 
been  the  place  selected  by  him,  while  all  the  circumstances  corroborate  the 
opinion  that  the  place  he  selected  was  the  spot  where  Burlington  is  now  located, 
called  by  the  early  voyagers  on  the  Mississippi,  "Flint  Hills."' 

On  the  24th,  with  one  of  his  men,  he  went  on  shore  on  a  hunting  expedition, 
and  following  a  stream  which  they  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  the  Mississippi,  they 
were  led  away  from  their  course.  Owing  to  the  intense  heat  and  tall  grass,  his 
two  favorite  dogs,  which  he  had  taken  with  him,  became  exhausted  and  he  left 
them  on  the  prairie,  supposing  that  they  would  follow  him  as  soon  as  they 
should  get  rested,  and  went  on  to  overtake  his  boat.  Reaching  the  river,  he 
waited  sometime  for  his  canine  friends,  but  they  did  not  come,  and  as  he  deemed 
it  inexpedient  to  detam  the  boat  longer,  two  of  his  men  volunteered  to  go  in  pur- 


152  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

suit  of  them,  and  he  continued  on  his  way  up  the  river,  expecting  that  the  two 
men  -woukl  soon  overtake  him.  They  kist  their  way,  however,  and  for  six  days 
were  without  food,  except  a  few  morsels  gathered  from  the  stream,  and  might 
have  perished,  had  they  not  accidentally  met  a  trader  from  St.  Louis,  who  in- 
duced two  Indians  to  take  them  up  the  river,  and  they  overtook  the  boat  at 
Dubuque. 

At  Dubuque,  Pike  was  cordially  received  by  Julien  Dubuque,  a  Fi*enchman, 
who  held  a  mining  claim  under  a  grant  from  Spain.  Dubuque  had  an  old  field 
piece  and  fired  a  salute  in  honor  of  the  advent  of  the  first  Americans  who  had 
visited  that  part  of  the  Territory.  Dubuque,  hoAvever,  was  not  disposed  to  pub- 
lish the  wealth  of  his  mines,  and  the  young  and  evidently  inquisitive  officer 
obtained  but  little  information  from  him. 

After  leaving  this  place,  Pike  pursued  his  way  up  the  river,  but  as  he  passed 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  present  State  of  Iowa,  a  detailed  history  of  his  explo- 
rations on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi  more  properly  belongs  to  the  his- 
tory of  another  State. 

It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  on  the  site  of  Fort  Snelling,  Minnesota,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Minnesota  River,  Pike  held  a  council  with  the  Sioux,  September 
23,  and  obtained  from  them  a  grant  of  olie  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land. 
On  the  8th  of  January,  1806,  Pike  arrived  at  a  trading  post  belonging  to  the 
Northwest  Company,  on  Lake  De  Sable,  in  latitude  17°.  At  this  time  the 
then  powerful  Northwest  Company  carried  on  their  immense  operations  from 
Hudson's  Bay  to  the  St.  LaAvrence;  up  that  river  on  both  sides,  along  the  great 
lakes  to  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  thence  to  the  sources  of  the  Red  River  of 
the  north  and  west,  to  the  Rocky  jNIountains,  embracing  Avithin  the  scope  of 
their  operations  the  entire  Territory  of  Iowa.  After  successfully  aeeom]ilishing 
his  mis?!ion,  and  performing  a  valuable  service  to  Iowa  and  the  whole  Northwest, 
Pike  returned  to  St.  Louis,  arriving  there  on  the  30th  of  April,  1806. 

IKDIAN    WARS. 

The  Territory  of  loAva,  although  it  had  been  purchased  by  the  United  States, 
and  Avas  ostensibly  in  the  posses:^ion  of  the  Government,  Avas  still  occupied  by 
the  Indians,  Avho  claimed  title  to  the  soil  by  right  of  OAvnership  and  possession. 
Before  it  could  be  open  to  settlement  by  the  Avhites,  it  was  indispensable  that 
the  Indian  title  should  be  extinguished  and  the  original  owners  removed.  The 
accomplishment  of  this  purpose  required  the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of 
money  and  blood,  and  for  a  long  series  of  years  the  frontier  Avas  disturbed  by 
Indian  Avars,  terminated  repeatedly  by  treaty,  only  to  be  rencAvcd  by  some  act 
of  oppression  on  the  part  of  the  whites  or  some  violation  of  treaty  stipulation. 

As  previously  shown,  at  the  time  Avhen  the  United  States  assumed  the  con- 
trol of  the  country  by  virtue  of  the  Louisiana  purchase,  nearly  the  whole  State 
was  in  possession  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  a  powerful  and  Avarlike  nation,  Avho 
were  not  disposed  to  submit  without  a  struggle  to  what  they  considered  the 
encroachments  of  the  pale  faces. 

Among  the  most  noted  chiefs,  and  one  Avhose  restlessness  and  hatred  of  the 
Americans  occasioned  more  trouble  to  the  Government  than  any  other  of  his 
tribe,  AA'as  Black  HaAvk,  Avho  Avas  born  at  the  Sac  village,  on  Rock  River,  in 
1767.  He  Avas  simply  the  chief  of  his  own  band  of  Sac  Avarriors,  but  by  his 
energy  and  ambition  he  became  the  leading  spirit  of  the  united  nation  of  Sacs 
and  Foxes,  and  one  of  the  prominent  figures  in  the  history  of  the  country  from 
1804  until  his  death.  In  early  manhood  he  attained  some  distinction  as  a 
fighting  chief,  having  led  campaigns  against  the  Osages,  and  other  neighboring 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  153 

tribes.  About  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  he  began  to  appear  prom- 
inent in  affairs  on  the  Mississippi.  Some  liistorians  have  added  to  the  statement 
that  "  it  does  not  appear  that  he  was  ever  a  great  general,  or  possessed  any  of 
the  qualifications  of  a  successful  leader."  If  this  was  so,  his  life  was  a  marvel. 
How  any  man  who  had  none  of  the  qualifications  of  a  leader  became  so  prom- 
inent as  such,  as  he  did,  indicates  either  that  he  had  some  ability,  or  that  his 
cotemporaries,  both  Indian  and  Anglo-Saxon,  had  less  than  he.  He  is  said 
to  have  been  the  "victim  of  a  narrow  prejudice  and  bitter  ill-will  against  the 
Americans,"  but  the  impartial  historian  must  admit  that  if  he  was  the  enemy 
of  theAmericans,  it  was  certainly  not  without  some  reason. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Spain  did  not  give  up  possession  of  the  country 
to  France  on  its  cession  to  the  latter  power,  in  1801,  but  retained  possession  of 
it,  and,  by  the  authority  of  France,  transferred  it  to  the  United  States,  in  1804. 
Black  Hawk  and  his  band  were  in  St.  Louis  at  the  time,  and  were  invited  to  be 
present  and  witness  the  ceremonies  of  the  transfer,  but  he  refused  the  invitation, 
and  it  is  but  just  to  say  that  this  refusal  was  caused  probably  more  from 
regret  that  the  Indians  were  to  be  transferred  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Spanish  authorities  than  from  any  special  hatred  toward  the  Americans.  In 
his  life  he  says :  "  I  found  many  sad  and  gloomy  faces  because  the  United 
States  were  about  to  take  possession  of  the  town  and  country.  Soon  after  the 
Americans  came,  I  took  my  band  and  went  to  take  leave  of  our  Spanish  father. 
The  Americans  came  to  see  him  also.  Seeing  them  approach,  we  passed  out 
of  one  door  as  they  entered  another,  and  immediately  started  in  our  canoes  for 
our  village,  on  Rock  River,  not  liking  the  change  any  more  than  our  friends 
appeared  to  at  St.  Louis.  On  arriving  at  our  village,  we  gave  the  news  that 
strange  people  had  arrived  at  St.  Louis,  and  that  we  should  never  see  our 
Spanish  father  again.     The  information  made  all  our  people  sorry." 

On  the  3d  day  of  November,  1804,  a  treaty  was  concluded  between  William 
Henry  Harrison,  then  Governor  of  Indiana  Territory,  on  behalf  of  the  L^nited 
States,  and  five  chiefs  of  the  Sac  and  Fox  nation,  by  which  the  latter,  in  con- 
sideration of  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  dollars'  worth  of  goods 
then  delivered,  and  a  yearly  annuity  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  be  paid  in 
goods  at  just  cost,  ceded  to  the  United  States  all  that  land  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Mississppi,  extending  from  a  point  opposite  the  Jefferson,  in  Missouri,  to 
the  Wisconsin  River,  embracing  an  area  of  over  fifty-one  millions  of  acres. 

To  this  treaty  Black  Hawk  always  objected  and  always  refused  to  consider 
it  binding  upon  his  people.  He  asserted  that  the  chiefs  or  braves  who  made  it 
had  no  authority  to  relinquish  the  title  of  the  nation  to  any  of  the  lands  they 
held  or  occupied  ;  and,  moreover,  that  they  had  been  sent  to  St.  Louis  on  quite 
a  different  errand,  namely,  to  get  one  of  their  people  released,  who  had  been 
imprisoned  at  St.  Louis  for  killing  a  white  man. 

The  year  following  this  treaty  (1805),  Lieutenant  Zebulon  M.  Pike  came  up 
the  river  for  the  purpose  of  holding  friendly  councils  with  the  Indians  and  select- 
ing sites  for  forts  within  the  territory  recently  acquired  from  France  by  the 
United  States.  Lieutenant  Pike  seems  to  have  been  the  first  American  whom 
Black  Hawk  ever  met  or  had  a  personal  interview  with  ;  and  he  was  very  much 
prepossessed  in  Pike's  fiivor.  He  gives  the  following  account  of  his  visit  to 
Rock  Island : 

"  A  boat  came  up  the  river  with  a  young  American  chief  and  a  small  party 
of  soldiers.  We  heard  of  them  soon  after  they  passed  Salt  River.  Some  of  our 
young  braves  watched  them  every  day,  to  see  what  sort  of  people  he  had  on 
board.     The  boat  at  length  arrived  at  Rock  River,  and  the  young  chief  came  on 


154  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

shore  with  his  interpreter,  and  made  a  speech  and  gave  us  some  presents.  We 
in  turn  presented  them  with  meat  and  such  other  provisions  as  we  had  to  spai-e. 
We  were  well  pleased  with  the  young  chief.  He  gave  us  good  advice,  and  said 
our  American  father  would  treat  us  well." 

The  events  Avhicli  soon  followed  Pike's  expedition  were  the  erection  of  Fort 
Edwards,  at  what  is  now  Warsaw,  Illinois,  and  Fort  Madison,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  town  of  that  name,  the  latter  being  the  first  fort  erected  in  Iowa.  These 
movements  occasioned  great  uneasiness  among  the  Indians.  When  work  was 
commenced  on  Fort  Edwards,  a  delegation  from  their  nation,  headed  by  some  of 
their  chiefs,  went  down  to  see  what  the  Americans  were  doing,  and  had  an  in- 
terview with  the  commander;  after  which  they  returned  home  apparently  satis- 
fied. In  like  manner,  when  Fort  Madison  was  being  erected,  they  sent  down 
another  delegation  from  a  council  of  the  nation  held  at  Rock  River.  Accord- 
ing to  Black  Hawk's  account,  the  American  chief  told  them  that  he  was  build- 
ing a  house  for  a  trader  who  Avas  coming  to  sell  them  goods  cheap,  and  that  the 
soldiers  were  coming  to  keep  him  company — a  statement  Avhich  Black  Hawk 
says  they  distrusted  at  the  time,  believing  that  the  fort  Avas  an  encroachment 
upon  their  rights,  and  designed  to  aid  in  getting  their  lands  aAvay  from  them. 

It  has  been  held  by  good  American  authorities,  that  the  erection  of  Fort 
Madison  at  the  point  Avhere  it  Avas  located  ioas  a  violation  of  the  treaty  of  1804. 
By  the  eleventh  article  of  that  treaty,  the  United  States  hud  a  right  to  build  a 
fort  near  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  River ;  by  article  six  they  had  bound 
themselves  "that  if  any  citizen  of  the  United  States  or  any  other  Avhite  persons 
should  form  a  settlement  upon  their  lands,  such  intruders  should  fortlnvith  be 
removed."  Probably  the  authorities  of  the  United  States  did  not  regard  the 
establishment  of  military  posts  as  coming  properly  within  the  meaning  of  the 
term  "settlement,"  as  used  in  the  treaty.  At  all  events,  they  erected  Fort 
Madison  Avithin  the  territory  reserved  to  the  Indians,  Avho  became  very  indig- 
nant. Not  long  after  the  fort  Avas  built,  a  party  led  by  Black  IlaAvk  attempted 
its  destruction.  They  sent  spies  to  Avatch  the  movements  of  the  garrison,  Avho 
ascertained  that  the  soldiers  Avere  in  the  habit  of  marching  out  of  the  fort  every 
morning  and  evening  for  parade,  and  the  plan  of  the  party  was  to  conceal  them- 
selves near  the  fort,  and  attack  and  surprise  them  Avhen  they  Avere  outside.  On 
the  morning  of  the  proposed  day  of  attack,  five  soldiers  came  out  and  Avere  fired 
upon  hj  the  Indians,  two  of  them  being  killed.  The  Indians  Avere  too  hasty  in 
their  movement,  for  the  regular  drill  had  not  yet  commenced.  HoAvever,  they 
kept  up  the  attack  for  several  days,  attempting  the  old  Fox  strategy  of  setting 
fire  to  the  fort  Avitli  blazing  arroAvs ;  but  finding  their  efforts  unavailing,  they 
soon  gave  up  and  returned  to  Rock  River. 

AVhen  Avar  Avas  declared  betAveen  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  m 
1812,  Black  IlaAvk  and  his  band  allied  themselves  Avith  the  British,  partly 
because  he  Avas  dazzled  by  their  specious  promises,  and  more  probably  because 
they  had  been  deceived  by  the  Americans.  Black  HaAvk  himself  declared  that 
they  were  "forced  into  the  Avar  by  being  deceived."  He  narrates  the  circum- 
stances as  folloAvs:  "  SeA^eral  of  the  chiefs  and  head  men  of  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes  were  called  upon  to  go  to  Washington  to  see  their  Great  Father.  On 
their  return^  they  related  Avhat  had  been  said  and  done.  They  said  the  Great 
Father  wished  them,  in  the  event  of  a  Avar  taking  place  Avith  England,  not  to 
interfere  on  either  side,  but  to  remain  neutral.  He  did  not  Avant  our  help,  but 
Avished  us  to  hunt  and  support  our  families,  and  live  in  peace.  He  said  that 
British  traders  Avould  not  be  permitted  to  come  on  the  IMississippi  to  furnish  us 
with  goods,  but  that  Ave  should  be  supplied  Avith  an  American  trader.     Our 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  IbS- 

chiefs  then  told  him  that  the  British  traders  always  gave  them  credit  in  the 
Fall  for  guns,  powder  and  goods,  to  enable  us  to  hunt  and  clothe  our  families. 
He  repeated  that  the  traders  at  Fort  Madison  Avould  have  plenty  of  goods ; 
that  we  should  go  there  in  the  Fall  and  he  would  supply  us  on  credit,  as  the 
British  traders  had  done." 

Black  Hawk  seems  to  have  accepted  of  this  proposition,  and  he  and  his 
people  were  very  much  pleased.  Acting  in  good  faith,  they  fitted  out  for  their 
Winter's  hunt,  and  went  to  Fort  Madison  in  high  spirits  to  receive  from  the 
trader  their  outfit  of  supplies.  But,  after  waiting  some  time,  they  were  told  by 
the  trader  that  he  would  not  trust  them.  It  was  in  vain  that  they  pleaded  the 
promise  of  their  great  father  at  Washington.  The  trader  was  inexorable ;  and, 
disappointed  and  crestfallen,  they  turned  sadly  toward  their  own  village.  -'Few 
of  us,"  says  Black  Hawk,  "slept  that  night;  all  was  gloom  and  discontent.  In 
the  morning,  a  canoe  was  seen  ascending  the  river ;  it  soon  arrived,  bearing  an 
express,  who  brought  intelligence  that  a  British  trader  had  landed  at  Rock 
Island  with  two  boats  loaded  with  goods,  and  requested  us  to  come  up  imme- 
diately, because  he  had  good  news  for  us,  and  a  variety  of  presents.  The 
express  presented  us  with  tobacco,  pipes  and  wampum.  The  news  ran  through 
our  camp  like  fire  on  a  prairie.  Our  lodges  were  soon  taken  down,  and  all 
started  for  Rock  Island.  Here  ended  all  hopes  of  our  remaining  at  peace, 
having  been  forced  into  the  war  by  being  deceived." 

He  joined  the  British,  who  flattered  him,  styled  him  "  Gen.  Black  Hawk," 
decked  him  Avith  medals,  excited  his  jealousies  against  the  Americans,  and 
armed  his  band  ;  but  he  met  with  defeat  and  disappointment,  and  saon  aban- 
doned the  service  and  came  home. 

With  all  his  skill  and  courage,  Black  Hawk  was  unable  to  lead  all  the  Sacs 
and  Foxes  into  hostilities  to  the  United  States.  A  portion  of  them,  at  the  head 
of  whom  was  Keokuk  ("the  Watchful  Fox"),  were  disposed  to  abide  by  the 
treaty  of  1804,  and  to  cultivate  friendly  relations  with  the  American  people. 
Therefore,  when  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  joined  the  fortunes  of  Great 
Britain,  the  rest  of  the  nation  remained  neutral,  and,  for  protection,  organized, 
with  Keokuk  for  their  chief.  This  divided  the  nation  into  the  "  War  and  the 
Peace  party." 

Black  Hawk  says  he  was  informed,  after  he  had  gone  to  the  war,  that  the 
nation,  which  had  been  reduced  to  so  small  a  body  of  fighting  men,  were  unable 
to  defend  themselves  in  case  the  Americans  should  attack  them,  and  havnig  all 
the  old  men  and  women  and  children  belonging  to  the  warriors  who  had  joined 
the  British  on  their  hands  to  provide  for,  a  council  was  held,  and  it  was  agreed 
that  Quash-qua-me  (the  Lance)  and  other  chiefs,  together  with  the  old  men, 
women  and  children,  and  such  others  as  chose  to  accompany  them,  should  go  to 
St.  Louis  and  place  themselves  under  the  American  chief  stationed  there. 
They  accordingly  went  down,  and  were  received  as  the  "friendly  band"  of  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes,  and  were  provided  for  and  sent  up  the  Missouri  River.  On 
Black  Hawk's  return  from  the  British  army,  he  says  Keokuk  was  introduced 
to  him  as  the  war  chief  of  the  braves  then  in  the  village.  He  inquired  how  he 
had  become  chief,  and  was  informed  that  their  spies  had  seen  a  large  armed 
force  going  toward  Peoria,  and  fears  were  entertained  of  an  attack  upon  the 
village ;  whereupon  a  council  was  held,  which  concluded  to  leave  the  village 
and  cross  over  to  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi.  Keokuk  had  been  standing 
at  the  door  of  the  lodge  where  the  council  was  held,  not  being  allowed  to  enter 
on  account  of  never  having  killed  an  enemy,  where  he  remained  until  Wa-co-me 
came  out.      Keokuk  asked  permission  to  speak  in  the  council,  which  Wa-co-me 


156  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

obtained  for  him.  Keokuk  then  addressed  the  chiefs  ;  he  remonstrated  against 
the  desertion  of  their  village,  their  own  homes  and  the  graves  of  their  fathers, 
and  offered  to  defend  the  village.  The  council  consented  that  he  should  be 
their  war  chief.  He  marshaled  his  braves,  sent  out  spies,  and  advanced  on  the 
trail  leading  to  Peoria,  but  returned  without  seeing  the  enemy.  The  Americans 
did  not  disturb  the  village,  and  all  were  satisfied  with  the  appointment  of 
Keokuk. 

Keokuk,  like  Black  Hawk,  was  a  descendant  of  the  Sac  branch  of  the 
nation,  and  was  born  on  Rock  River,  in  1780.  He  was  of  a  pacific  disposition, 
but  possessed  the  elements  of  true  courage,  and  could  fight,  when  occasion 
required,  with  a  cool  judgment  and  heroic  energy.  In  his  first  battle,  he  en- 
countered and  killed  a  Sioux,  which  placed  him  in  the  rank  of  warriors,  and  he 
was  honored  with  a  public  feast  by  his  tribe  in  commemoration  of  the  event. 

Keokuk  has  been  described  as  an  orator,  entitled  to  rank  with  the  most 
gifted  of  his  race.  In  person,  he  was  tall  and  of  portly  bearing ;  in  his  public 
speeches,  he  displayed  a  commanding  attitude  and  graceful  gestures ;  he  spoke 
rapidly,  but  his  enunciation  was  clear,  distinct  and  forcible ;  he  culled  his  fig- 
ures from  the  stores  of  nature  and  based  his  arguments  on  skillful  logic.  Un- 
fortunately for  the  reputation  of  Keokuk,  as  an  orator  among  white  people,  he 
was  never  able  to  obtain  an  interpreter  who  could  claim  even  a  slight  acquaint- 
ance with  philosophy.  With  one  exception  only,  his  interpreters  were  unac- 
quainted with  the  elements  of  their  mother-tongue.  Of  this  serious  hindrance 
to  his  fame,  Keokuk  was  well  aware,  and  retained  Frank  Labershure,  who  had 
received  a  rudimental  education  in  the  French  and  English  languages,  until  the 
latter  broke  down  by  dissipation  and  died.  But  during  the  meridian  of  his 
career  among  the  white  people,  he  was  compelled  to  submit  his  speeches  for 
translation  to  uneducated  men,  whose  range  of  thought  fell  below  the  flights  of 
a  gifted  mind,  and  the  fine  imagery  drawn  from  nature  was  beyond  their  power 
of  reproduction.  He  had  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  English  language  to  make 
him  sensible  of  this  bad  rendering  of  his  thoughts,  and  often  a  feeling  of  morti- 
fication at  the  bungling  efforts  Avas  depicted  on  his  countenance  while  speaking. 
The  proper  place  to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  his  ability  as  an  orator  was  in 
the  Indian  council,  where  he  addressed  himself  exclusively  to  those  who  under- 
stood his  language,  and  witness  the  electrical  effect  of  his  eloquence  upon  his 
audience. 

Keokuk  seems  to  have  possessed  a  more  sober  judgment,  and  to  have  had  a 
more  intelligent  view  of  the  great  strength  and  resources  of  the  United  States, 
than  his  noted  and  restless  cotemporary,  Black  Hawk.  He  knew  from  the  first 
that  the  reckless  war  which  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  had  determined  to  carry  on 
could  result  in  nothing  but  defeat  and  disaster,  and  used  every  argument  against 
it.  The  large  number  of  warriors  whom  he  had  dissuaded  from  following  Black 
Hawk  became,  however,  greatly  excited  with  the  war  spirit  after  Stillman's 
defeat,  and  but  for  the  signal  tact  displayed  by  Keokuk  on  that  occasion,  would 
have  forced  him  to  submit  to  their  Avishes  in  joining  the  rest  of  the  warriors  in 
the  field.  A  war-dance  was  held,  and  Keokuk  took  part  in  it,  seeming  to  be 
moved  with  the  current  of  the  rising  storm.  When  the  dance  was  over,  he 
called  the  council  to  prepare  for  Avar.  He  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  admitted 
the  justice  of  their  complaints  against  the  Americans.  -  To  seek  redress  was  a 
noble  aspiration  of  their  nature.  The  blood  of  their  brethren  had  been  shed  by 
the  Avhite  man,  and  the  spirits  of  their  braves,  slain  in  battle,  called  loudly  for 
vengeance.  "I  am  your  chief,"  he  said,  "and  it  is  my  duty  to  lead  you  to  bat- 
tle, if,  after  fully  considering  the  matter,  you  are  determined  to  go.      But  before 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  157 

you  decide  on  taking  this  important  step,  it  is  wise  to  inquire  into  the  chances  of 
success."  He  then  portrayed  to  them  the  great  power  of  the  United  States, 
against  whom  they  would  have  to  contend,  that  their  chance  of  success  was 
utterly  hopeless.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  if  you  do  determine  to  go  upon  the  war- 
path, I  will  agree  to  lead  you,  on  one  condition,  viz.:  that  before  Ave  go,  Ave  Avill 
kill  all  our  old  men  and  our  Avives  and  children,  to  save  them  from  a  lingering 
deatli  of  starvation,  and  that  every  one  of  us  determine  to  leave  our  homes  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Mississippi." 

This  Avas  a  strong  but  truthful  picture  of  the  prospect  before  them,  and  Avas 
presented  in  such  a  forcible  light  as  to  cool  their  ardor,  and  cause  them  to  aban- 
don the  rash  undertaking. 

But  during  the  Avar  of  1832,  it  is  now  considered  certain  that  small  bands  of 
Indians,  from  the  Avest  side  of  the  Mississippi,  made  incursions  into  the  Avhite 
settlements,  in  the  lead  mining  region,  and  committed  some  murders  and  dep- 
redations. 

When  peace  Avas  declared  betAveen  the  United  States  and  England,  Black 
HaAvk  was  required  to  make  peace  Avith  the  former,  and  entered  into  a  treaty 
at  Portage  des  Sioux,  September  14,  1815,  but  did  not  "touch  the  goose-quill 
to  it  until  May  13,  1816,  when  he  smoked  the  pipe  of  peace  Avith  the  great 
white  chief,"  at  St.  Louis.  This  treaty  was  a  rencAval  of  the  treaty  of  1804, 
but  Black  HaAvk  declared  he  had  been  deceived ;  that  he  did  not  knoAv  that  by 
signing  the  treaty  he  Avas  giving  aAvay  his  village.  This  Aveighed  upon  his  mind, 
already  soured  by  previous  disappointment  and  the  irresistible  encroachments  of 
the  Avhites  ;  and  when,  a  feAV  years  later,  he  and  his  people  Avere  driven  from 
their  possessions  by  the  military,  he  determined  to  return  to  the  home  of  his 
fathers. 

It  is  also  to  be  remarked  that,  in  1816,  by  treaty  Avith  various  tribes,  the 
United  States  relinquished  to  the  Indians  all  the  lands  lying  north  of  a  line 
drawn  from  the  southernmost  point  of  Lake  Michigan  Avest  to  the  Mississippi, 
except  a  reservation  five  leagues  square,  on  the  Mississippi  River,  supposed  then 
to  be  sufficient  to  include  all  the  mineral  lands  on  and  adjacent  to  Fever  River, 
and  one  league  square  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  River. 

THE    BLACK    HAAVK    AVAR. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  Indian  outbreak  in  1830  was  the  occupation  of 
Black  HaAvk's  village,  on  the  Rock  River,  by  the  Avhites,  during  the  absence  of 
tbe  chief  and  his  braves  on  a  hunting  expedition,  on  the  Avest  side  of  the 
Mississippi.  When  they  returned,  they  found  their  AvigAvams  occupied  by  Avhite 
families,  and  their  own  women  and  children  Avere  shelterless  on  the  banks  of 
the  river.  The  Indians  Avere  indignant,  and  determined  to  repossess  their  village 
at  all  hazards,  and  early  in  the  Spring  of  1831  recrossed  the  Mississippi  and 
menacingly  took  possession  of  their  own  cornfields  and  cabins.  It  may  be  Avell 
to  remark  here  that  it  was  expressly  stipulated  in  the  treaty  of  1804,  to  Avhich 
they  attributed  all  their  troubles,  that  the  Indians  should  not  be  obliged  to 
leave  their  lands  until  they  were  sold  by  the  United  States,  and  it  does  not 
appear  that  they  occupied  any  lands  other  than  those  OAvned  by  the  Government. 
If  this  was  true,  the  Indians  had  good  cause  for  indignation  and  complaint. 
But  the  whites,  driven  out  in  turn  by  the  returning  Indians,  became  so  clamorous 
against  Avhat  they  termed  the  encroachments  of  the  natives,  that  Gov.  Reynolds,  of 
Illinois,  ordered  Gen  Gaines  to  Rock  Island  Avith  a  military  force  to  drive  the 
Indians  again  from  their  homes  to  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi.  Black  Hawk 
says  he  did  not  intend  to  be  provoked  into  war  by  any  thing  less  than  the  blood  of 


158  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

some  of  his  own  people  ;  in  other  words,  that  there  would  be  no  war  unless  it  should 
be  commenced  by  the  pale  faces.  But  it  was  said  and  probably  thought  by  the  mili- 
tary commanders  along  the  frontier  that  the  Indians  intended  to  unite  in  a  general 
war  against  the  whites,  from  Rock  River  to  the  Mexican  borders.  But  it  does  not 
appear  that  the  hardy  frontiersmen  themselves  had  any  feai's,  for  their  experi- 
ence had  been  that,  when  well  treated,  their  Indian  neighbors  were  not  danger- 
ous. Black  Hawk  and  his  band  had  done  no  more  than  to  attempt  to  repossess  the 
the  old  homes  of  which  they  had  been  deprived  in  their  absence.  No  blood 
had  been  shed.  Black  Hawk  and  his  chiefs  sent  a  flag  of  truce,  and  a  new 
treaty  was  made,  by  which  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  agreed  to  remain  forever 
on  the  Iowa  side  and  never  recross  the  river  without  the  permission  of  the 
President  or  the  Governor  of  Illinois.  Whether  the  Indians  clearly  understood 
the  terms  of  this  treaty  is  uncertain.  As  was  usual,  the  Indian  traders  had 
dictated  terms  on  their  behalf,  and  they  had  received  a  large  amount  of  pro- 
visions, etc.,  from  the  Government,  but  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  the 
Indians  comprehended  that  they  could  never  revisit  the  graves  of  their  fathers 
without  violating  their  treaty.  They  undoubtedly  thought  that  they  had  agreed 
never  to  recross  the  Mississippi  with  hostile  intent.  However  this  may  be,  on 
the  6th  day  of  April,  1832,  Black  Hawk  and  his  entire  band,  with  their  women 
and  children,  again  recrossed  the  Mississippi  in  plain  view  of  the  garrison  of 
Fort  Armstrong,  and  went  up  Rock  River.  Although  this  act  was  construed 
into  an  act  of  hostility  by  the  military  authorities,  who  declared  that  Black 
Hawk  intended  to  recover  his  village,  or  the  site  where  it  stood,  by  force  ;  but 
it  does  not  appear  that  he  made  any  such  attempt,  nor  did  his  apearance 
create  any  special  alarm  among  the  settlers.  They  knew  that  the  Indians  never 
went  on  the  war  path  encumbered  with  the  old  men,  their  women  and  their 
children. 

The  Gfalenian,  printed  in  Galena,  of  May  2,  1832,  says  that  Black  Hawk 
was  invited  by  the  Prophet  and  had  taken  possession  of  a  tract  about  forty 
miles  up  Rock  River ;  but  that  he  did  not  remain  there  long,  but  commenced 
his  march  up  Rock  River.  Capt.  W.  B.  Green,  who  served  in  Capt.  Stephen- 
son's company  of  mounted  rangers,  says  that  "  Black  Hawk  and  h^s  band 
crossed  the  river  with  no  hostile  intent,  but  that  his  band  had  had  bad  luck  in 
hunting  during  the  previous  Winter,  were  actually  in  a  starving  condition,  and 
had  come  over  to  spend  the  Summer  with  a  friendly  tribe  on  the  head  waters  of 
the  Rock  and  Illinois  Rivers,  by  invitation  from  their  chief.  Other  old  set- 
tlers, who  all  agree  that  Black  Hawk  had  no  idea  of  fighting,  say  that  he  came 
back  to  the  west  side  expecting  to  negotiate  another  treaty,  and  get  a  new 
supply  of  provisions.  The  most  reasonable  explanation  of  this  movement,  which 
resulted  so  disastrously  to  Black  Hawk  and  his  starving  people,  is  that,  during 
the  Fall  and  Winter  of  1831-2,  his  people  became  deeply  indebted  to  their 
favorite  trader  at  Fort  Armstrong  (Rock  Island).  They  had  not  been  fortunate 
in  hunting,  and  he  was  likely  to  lose  heavily,  as  an  Indian  debt  was  outlawed 
in  one  year.  If,  therefore,  the  Indians  could  be  induced  to  come  over,  and  the 
fears  of  the  military  could  be  sufficiently  aroused  to  pursue  them,  another  treaty 
could  be  negotiated,  and  from  the  payments  from  the  Government  the  shrewd 
trader  could  get  his  pay.  Just  a  week  after  Black  Hawk  crossed  the  river,  on 
the  l-3th  of  April,  1832,  George  Davenport  wrote  to  Gen.  Atkinson  :  "  I  am 
informed  that  the  British  band  of  Sac  Indians  are  determined  to  make  war  on 
the  frontier  settlements.  *  *  *  From  every  information  that  I  have 
received,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  intention  of  the  British  band  of  Sac 
Indians  is  to  commit  depredations  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  frontier."     And 

\ 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  159 

yet,  from  the  6tli  day  of  April  until  after  Stillman's  men  commenced  war  by 
firing  on  a  flag  of  truce  from  Black  Hawk,  no  murders  nor  depredations  were 
committed  by  the  British  band  of  Sac  Indians. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  sketch  to  detail  the  incidents  of  the  Black 
Hawk  war  of  1832,  as  it  pertains  rather  to  the  history  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  that,  after  the  disgraceful  affair  at  Stillman's  Run,  Black 
Hawk,  concluding  that  the  whites,  refusing  to  treat  with  him,  were  determined 
to  exterminate  his  people,  determined  to  return  to  the  Iowa  side  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. He  could  not  return  by  the  way  he  came,  for  the  army  was  behind  him, 
an  army,  too,  that  would  sternly  refuse  to  recognize  the  white  flag  of  peace. 
His  only  course  was  to  make  his  way  northward  and  reach  the  Mississippi,  if 
possible,  before  the  troops  could  overtake  him,  and  this  he  did ;  but,  before  he 
could  get  his  women  and  children  across  the  Wisconsin,  he  was  overtaken,  and  a 
battle  ensued.  Here,  again,  he  sued  for  peace,  and,  through  his  trusty  Lieu- 
tenant, "the  Prophet,"  the  whites  were  plainly  informed  that  the  starving 
Indians  did  not  wish  to  fight,  but  would  return  to  the  west  side  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, peaceably,  if  they  could  be  permitted  to  do  so.  No  attention  was  paid  to 
this  second  effort  to  negotiate  peace,  and,  as  soon  as  supplies  could  be  obtained, 
the  pursuit  was  resumed,  the  flying  Indians  were  overtaken  again  eight  miles 
before  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Bad  Axe,  and  the  slaughter  (it  should  not 
be  dignified  by  the  name  of  battle)  commenced.'  Here,  overcome  by  starvation 
and  the  victorious  whites,  his  band  was  scattered,  on  the  2d  day  of  August, 
1832.  Black  Hawk  escaped,  but  was  brought  into  camp  at  Prairie  du  Chien 
by  three  Winnebagoes.  He  was  confined  in  Jefferson  Barracks  until  the 
Spring  of  1833,  Avhen  he  was  sent  to  Washington,  arriving  there  April  22.  On 
the  26th  of  April,  they  were  taken  to  Fortress  Monroe,  where  they  remained 
till  the  4th  of  June,  1833,  when  orders  were  given  for  them  to  be  liberated  and 
returned  to  their  own  country.  By  order  of  the  President,  he  was  brought 
back  to  Iowa  through  the  principal  Eastern  cities.  Crowds  flocked  to  see  him 
all  along  his  route,  and  he  was  very  much  flattered  by  the  attentions  he 
received.  He  lived  among  his  people  on  the  Iowa  River  till  that  reservation 
was  sold,  in  1836,  when,  with  the  rest  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  he  removed  to 
the  Des  Moines  Reservation,  where  he  remained  till  his  death,  Avhich  occurred 
on  the  3d  of  October,  1838. 


INDIAN  PURCHASES,  RESERVES  AND  TREATIES, 

At  the  close  of  the  Black  Hawk  War,  in  1832,  a  treaty  was  made  at  a 
council  held  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  where  now  stands  the  thriving 
city  of  Davenport,  on  grounds  now  occupied  by  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  & 
Pacific  Railroad  Company,  on  the  21st  day  of  September,  1832.  At  this 
council,  the  United  States  were  represented  by  Gen.  Wmfield  Scott  and  Gov. 
Reynolds,  of  Illinois.  Keokuk,  Pash-a-pa-ho  and  some  thirty  other  chiefs  and 
warriors  of  the  Sac  and  Fox  nation  were  present.  By  this  treaty,  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes  ceded  to  the  United  States  a  strip  of  land  on  the  eastern  border  of  Iowa 
fifty  miles  wide,  from  the  northern  boundary  of  Missouri  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Upper  Iowa  River,  containing  about  six  million  acres.  The  western  line  of  the 
purchase  was  parallel  with  the  Mississippi.  In  consideration  of  this  cession, 
the  United  States  Government  stipulated  to  pay  annually  to  the  confederated 
tribes,  for  thirty  consecutive  years,  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  specie,  and  to 
pay  the  debts  of  the  Indians  at  Rock  Island,  which  had  been  accumulating  for 


IGO  '  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

sevoutoon  years  and  aniountod  to  fifty  thousami  dollars,  due  to  Davenport  & 
Farnhaui,  Indian  traders.  The  Giovernnient  also  generously  donated  to  the 
Sao  and  Fox  Avonien  and  children  whose  husbands  and  ftithers  had  fallen  in  the 
Black  ILnvk  war,  thirty-live  beef  cattle,  twelve  bushels  of  salt,  thirty  barrels  of 
pork,  fifty  barrels  of  flour  and  six  thousand  bushels  of  corn. 

This  territory  is  known  as  the  "-Black  Hawk  Purchase."  Although  it  Avas 
not  the  first  portion  of  Iowa  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes, 
it  was  the  first  opened  to  actual  settlement  by  the  tide  of  emigration  that  flowed 
across  the  Mississippi  as  soon  as  the  Indian  title  was  extinguished.  The  treaty 
was  ratified  February  13,  1S33,  and  took  efiect  on  the  1st  of  June  following, 
when  the  Indians  quietly  removed  from  the  ceded  territory,  and  this  fertile  and 
beautiful  region  was  opened  to  white  settlers. 

By  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  out  of  the  Black  Hawk  Purchase  was  reserved  for 
the  Sacs  and  Foxes  400  scpiare  miles  of  land  situated  on  the  Iowa  Kiver,  and  in- 
Icuding  within  its  limits  Keokuk's  village,  on  the  right  bank  of  that  river.  This 
tract  was  known  as  '"  Keokuk's  Reserve,  '  and  was  occupied  by  the  Indians  until 
1836,  when,  by  a  treaty  made  in  September  between  them  and  Gov.  Dodge,  of 
Wisconsin  Territory,  it  was  ceded  to  the  United  States.  The  council  Avas  held 
on  the  banks  of  the  jNIississippi,  above  Davenport,  and  was  the  largest  assem- 
blage of  the  kind  ever  held  by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  to  treat  for  the  sale  of  lands. 
About  one  thousand  of  their  chiefs  and  braves  Avere  present,  and  Keokuk  Avas 
their  leading  spirit  and  principal  speaker  on  the  occasion.  By  the  terms  of  the 
treatAs  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  Avere  removed  to  another  reservation  on  the  Des 
Moines  RiA-er,  AA"here  an  agency  Avas  established  for  them  at  Avhat  is  noAv  the 
toAvn  of  Agency  City. 

Besides  the  Keokuk  Reserve,  the  Government  gave  out  of  the  Black  IlaAvk 
Purchase  to  Autoine  Le  Claire,  interpreter,  in  fee  simple,  one  section  of  land 
opposite  Rock  Island,  and  another  at  the  head  of  the  first  rapids  above  the 
island,  on  the  loAva  side.  This  Avas  the  first  land  title  granted  by  the  United 
States  to  an  individual  in  loAva. 

Soon  after  the  removal  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  to  their  new  reservation 
on  the  Des  Moines  River,  Gen.  Joseph  M.  Street  Avas  transferred  from  the 
agency  of  the  AVinnebagoes,  at  Prairie  du  Chien.  to  establish  an  agency 
among  them.  A  farm  Avas  selected,  on  Avhich  the  necessary  buildings  Avere 
erected,  includiuir  a  comfortable  farm  h  nise  for  the  aii'ent  and  his  family,  at 
the  expense  of  the  Indian  Fund.  A  salaried  agent  Avas  employed  to  superin- 
tend the  farm  and  dispose  of  the  crops.  Tavo  mills  Avere  erected,  one  on  Soap 
Creek  and  the  other  on  Sugar  Creek.  The  latter  Avas  soon  SAvept  aAvay  by  a 
flood,  but  the  former  remained  and  did  good  service  for  many  years.  Connected 
Avith  the  agency  Avere  Joseph  Smart  and  John  Goodell,  interpreters.  The 
latter  Avas  interpreter  for  Hard  Fish's  band.  Three  of  the  Indian  chiefs,  Keo- 
kuk, "Wapello  and  Appanoose,  had  each  a  large  field  improved,  the  tAvo  former 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Des  INIoines,  back  from  the  river,  in  Avhat  is  noAV 
'•  Keokuk's  Prairie,"  and  the  latter  on  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Ottumwa. 
Among  the  traders  connected  Avith  the  agency  were  the  INIessrs.  E\ving,  from 
Ohio,  and  Phelps  &  Co.,  from  Illinois,  and  also  Mr.  J.  P.  Eddy,  Avho  estab- 
lished his  post  at  Avliat  is  now  the  site  of  Eddyville. 

The  Indians  at  this  agency  became  idle  and  listless  in  the  absence  of  their 
natural  and  Avonted  excitements,  and  many  of  them  plunged  into  dissipation. 
Keokuk  himself  became  dissipated  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  and  it  has 
boon  reported  that  he  died  of  delin'td}!  trcnwiis  after  his  removal  Avith  his 
tribe  to  Kansas. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  101 

In  May,  1843,  most  of  tlie  Iiulians  were  removed  up  the  Des  Moines  River, 
above  the  teniporarj  line  of  lied  Rock,  having  ceded  the  remnant  of  their 
lands  in  Iowa  to  the  United  States  on  the  21st  of  September,  1837,  and  on  the 
11th  of  October,  1842.  By  the  terms  of  the  latter  treaty,  they  held  possession 
of  the  "  New  Purchase "  till  tlie  Autumn  of  1845,  when  the  most  of  them 
were  removed  to  their  reservation  in  Kansas,  the  balance  being  removed  in  the 
Spring  of  184G. 

1.  Treat]/ with  the  Sioux — Made  July  19,  1  SI. "j ;  ratified  December  Id,  181').  This  treaty 
was  made  at  Portage  des  Sioux,  between  the  Sioux  of  Minnesota  and  Upper  Iowa  and  the  United 
States,  by  William  Clark  and  Ninian  Edwards,  (lommissioners,  and  was  merely  a  treaty  of  peace 
and  friendship  on  the  part  of  those  Indians  toward  the  United  States  at  the  close  of  the  war  of 
1812. 

2.  Treaty  with  the  Sacs.— A  similar  treaty  of  peace  was  made  at  Portage  des  Sioux,  between 
the  United  States  and  the  Sacs,  by  William  Clark,  Ninian  Edwnrds  and  Augustc  Choteau,  on  the 
loth  of  September,  181;'),  and  ratified  at  the  same  date  as  the  above.  In  this,  the  treaty  of  1804 
was  re-aflirmed,  and  the  Sacs  hero  represented  promised  for  themselves  and  their  bands  to  keep 
entirely  separate  from  the  Sacs  of  Uock  llivcr,  who,  under  Black  Hawk,  had  joined  the  British 
in  the  war  just  then  closed. 

3.  Treaty  ivith  the  Foxes. — A  separate  treaty  of  peace  was  made  with  the  Foxes  at  Portage 
des  Sioux,  by  the  same  Commissioners,  on  the  Mth  of  September,  1815,  and  ratified  the  same  as 
the  above,  wherein  the  Foxes  re-affirmed  the  treaty  of  St.  Louis,  of  November  u,  1804,  and 
agreed  to  deliver  up  all  their  prisoners  to  the  oflicer  in  command  at  Fort  Clark,  now  Peona, 
Illinois. 

4.  Treafij  with  the  loioas. — A  treaty  of  peace  and  mutual  good  will  was  made  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Iowa  tribe  of  Indians,  at  Portage  des  Sioux,  by  the  same  Commissioners 
as  above,  on  the  IGth  of  September,  1815,  at  the  close  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  ratified 
at  the  same  date  as  the  others. 

5.  Treat)/  with  the  Sacs  of  Rock  River— Made  at  St.  Louis  on  the  13th  of  May,  181G,  between 
the  United  States  and  the  Sacs  of  Uock  River,  by  the  Commissioners,  William  Clark,  Ninian 
Edwards  and  Auguste  Choteau,  and  ratified  December  30,  181G.  In  this  treaty,  that  of  1804 
was  reestablished  and  confirmed  by  twenty-two  chiefs  and  head  men  of  the  Sacj  of  Rock  River, 
and  Black  Hawk  himself  attached  to  it  his  signature,  or,  as  he  said,  "  touched  the  goose  quill." 

G.  Treat!/  of  1S24 —On  the  4th  of  August,  1824,  a  treaty  was  made  between  the  United 
States  and  tlie  Sacs  and  Foxes,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  by  William  Clark,  Commissioner, 
wherein  the  Sao  and  Fox  nation  relinquished  their  title  to  all  lands  in  Missouri  and  that  portion 
of  the  southeast  corner  of  Iowa  known  as  the  "  Half-Breed  Tract"  was  set  ofl:'  and  reserved  for 
the  use  of  the  half-breeds  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  they  holding  title  in  the  same  manner  as  In- 
dians.    Ratified  January  18,  1825. 

7.  Treati/  of  August  19,  lS25.—ki  this  date  a  treaty  was  made  by  William  Clark  and  Lewis 
Cass,  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  between  the  United  States  and  the  Chippewas,  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Me- 
nomonees,  Winnebagoes  and  a  portion  of  the  Ottawas  and  Pottawatomies.  In  this  treaty,  in 
order  to  make  peace  between  the  contending  tribes  as  to  the  limits  of  their  respective  hunting 
grounds  in  Iowa,,  it  was  agreed  that  the  United  States  Government  should  run  a  boundary  line 
between  the  Sioux,  on  the  north,  and  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  on  the  south,  as  follows : 

Commencing  at  the  mouth  of  the  Upper  Iowa  River,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  ascending  said  Iowa  Iliver  to  its  west  fork  ;  thence  up  the  fork  to  its  source  ;  thence  cross- 
in"-  the  fork  of  Red  Cedar  River  in  a  direct  line  to  the  second  or  upper  fork  of  the  Des  Moines 
River  ;  thence  in  a  direct  line  to  the  lower  fork  of  the  Calumet  River,  and  down  that  river  to  its 
junction  with  the  Missouri  River.  „    ,     ^ 

8.  Treaty  of  lS30.—On  the  15th  of  July,  1830,  the  confederate  tribes  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
ceded  to  the  United  States  a  strip  of  country  lying  south  of  the  above  line,  twenty  miles  in  width, 
and  extending  along  the  line  aforesaid  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Des  Moines  River.  The  Sioux 
also, 
like  sti 
treaty, 

ing  along .  -  -  ,  •  ,       /.  ^      i- 

territory  was  known  as  the  "Neutral  Ground,"  and  the  tribes  on  either  side  of  the  line  wore 
allowed  to  fish  and  hunt  on  it  unmolested  till  it  was  made  a  Winnebago  reservation,  and  the 
Winnebagoes  were  removed  to  it  in  1841.  _  „    ,       ,         ,       ^ 

U  Treat!/  tvnh  tht^.  Sacs  and  F<:fcs  and  other  Tribes.— \t  the  same  time  of  the  above  treaty  re- 
specting the  "Neutral  Ground"  (July  15,  1830),  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Western  Sioux,  Omahas, 
lowas  and  Missouris  ceded  to  the  United  States  a  portion  of  the  western  slope  of  Iowa,  the  boun- 
daries of  which  were  defined  as  follows:  Beginning  at  the  upper  fork  of  the  Des  Moines  River, 
and  passing  the  sources  of  the  Little  Sioux  and  Floyd  Rivers,  to  the  fork  of  the  first  creek  that 
falls  into  the  Bi^r  Sioux,  or  Calumet,  on  the  east  side  ;  thence  down  said  creek  and  the  Calumet 


162  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

River  to  the  Missouri  River;  tlience  down  said  Missouri  River  to  the  Missouri  State  line  above 
the  Kansas  ;  thence  along  said  line  to  the  northwest  corner  of  said  State  ;  thence  to  the  high  lands 
between  the  waters  falling  into  the  Missouri  and  Des  Moines,  passing  to  said  high  lands  alono- 
the  dividing  ridge  between  the  forks  of  the  Grand  River  :  thence  along  said  highlands  or  rido-e 
separating  the  waters  of  the  Missouri  from  those  of  the  Des  Moines,  to  a  point  opposite  the  source 
of  the  Bover  River,  and  thence  in  a  direct  line  to  the  upper  fork  of  the  Des  Moines,  the  place  of 
beginning. 

It  was  understood  that  the  lands  ceded  and  relinquished  by  this  treaty  were  to  be  assio^ned 
and  allotted,  under  the  direction  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  to  the  tribes  then  living 
thereon,  or  to  such  other  tribes  as  the  Tresident  might  locate  thereon  for  hunting  and  other  pui° 
poses.  In  consideration  of  three  tracts  of  land  ceded  in  this  treaty,  the  UnitedStates  agreed  to 
pay  to  the  Sacs  three  thousand  dollars  ;  to  the  Foxes,  three  thousand  dollars  ;  to  the°  Sioux, 
two  thousand  dollars;  to  the  Yankton  and  Santie  bauds  of  Sioux,  three  thousand  dollars;  to  the 
Omahas,  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars;  and  to  the  Ottoes  and  Missouris,  two  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars— to  be  paid  annually  for  ten  successive  years.  In  addition  to  these  anmiities, 
the  Government  agreed  to  furnish  some  of  the  tribes  with  blacksmiths  and  agricultural  imple- 
ments to  the  amount  of  two  hundred  dollars,  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States,  and  to  set  apart 
three  thousand  dollars  annually  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  these  tribes.  It  does  not 
appear  that  any  fort  was  erected  in  this  territory  prior  to  the  erection  of  Fort  Atkinson  on  the 
Neutral  Groitnd,  in  1840-41. 

This  treaty  was  made  by  AVilliam  Clark,  Superintendent  of  Indian  aifairs,  and  Col.  Willoushby 
Morgan,  of  the  United  States  First  Infantry,  and  came  into  eflect  bv  proclamation,  February 
24.  1831. 

10.  Treat!/  tcith  the  Winnebagoes. — Made  at  Fort  Armstrong,  Rock  Island,  September  15,  1832, 
by  Gen.  Winfield  Scott  and  Hon.  John  Reynolds,  Governor  of  Illinois.  In  this  treaty  the  Win- 
nebagoes  ceded  to  the  United  States  all  their  land  lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
in  part  consideration  therefor  the  United  States  granted  to  the  AVinnebagoes.  to  be  held  as  other 
Indian  lands  are  held,  that  portion  of  Iowa  known  as  the  Neutral  Ground.  The  exchange  of  the 
two  tracts  of  country  was  to  take  place  on  or  before  the  1st  day  of  June,  1833.  In  addition  to 
the  Neutral  Ground,  it  was  stiptilared  that  the  United  States  should  give  the  Winnebagoes,  begin- 
ning in  September,  1833.  and  continuing  for  twenty-seven  successive  years,  ten  thousand  dollars 
in  specie,  and  establish  a  school  among  them,  with  a  farm  and  garden,  and  provide  other  facili- 
ties for  the  education  of  their  children,  not  to  exceed  in  cost  three  thousand  dollars  a  year,  and 
to  continue  the  same  for  twenty-seven  sticcessive  years.  Six  agriculturists,  twelve  yoke  of  oxen 
and  plows  and  other  farming  tools  were  to  be  supplied  by  the  Government. 

11.  Treat)/  of  ISSJ  u-ith  the  Sacs  and  Foxes. — Already  mentioned  as  the  Black  Hawk  purchase. 

12.  Treat!/  of  1SS6,  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  ceding  Keokuk's  Reserve  to  the  United  States; 
for  which  the  Government  stipulated  to  pay  thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  an  annuity  of  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  for  ten  successive  years,  together  with  other  sums  and  debts  of  the  Indians  to 
vtvrious  parties. 

13.  Treat!/  of  1SS7.— On  the  21st  of  October.  1837,  a  treaty  was  made  at  the  city  of  ^Vash- 
ington,  between  Carey  A.  Harris,  Commissioner  of  Indian  Afiairs,  and  the  confederate  tribes  of 
Sacs  and  Foxes,  ratified  February  21, 1838.  wherein  another  slice  of  the  soil  of  Iowa  was  obtained, 
described  in  the  treaty  as  follows:  "A  tract  of  country  containing  1,2-30,000  acres,  lying  west 
and  adjoining  the  tract  conveyed  by  them  to  the  United  States  in  the  treaty  of  September  21, 
1832.  It  is  understood  that  the  points  of  termination  for  the  present  cession  shall  be  the  north- 
ern and  southern  points  of  said  tract  as  fixed  by  the  survey  made  tinder  the  authority  of  the 
United  States,  and  that  a  line  shall  be  drawn  between  them  so  as  to  intersect  a  line  extended 
westwardly  from  the  angle  of  said  tract  nearly  opposite  to  Rock  Island,  as  laid  down  in  the  above 
survey,  so  far  as  may  be  necessary  to  include  the  number  of  acres  hereby  ceded,  which  last 
mentioned  line,  it  is  estimated,  will  be  about  twenty-tive  miles." 

This  piece  of  land  was  twenty-five  miles  wide  in  the  middle,  and  ran  off  to  a  point  at  both 
ends,  lying  directly  back  of  the  Black  Hawk  Purchase,  and  of  the  same  length. 

14.  Treat!/  of  Relinquishment. — At  the  same  date  as  the  above  treaty,  in  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton, Carey  A.  Harris,  Commissioner,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  ceded  to  the  United  States  all  their 
right  and  interest  in  the  country  lying  south  of  the  boundary  line  between  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
and  Sioux,  as  described  in  the  treaty  of  August  19,  1825.  and  between  the  Mississippi  and  Mis- 
souri Rivers,  the  United  States  paying  for  the  same  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  dollars. 
The  Indians  also  gave  up  all  claims  and  interests  under  the  treaties  previously  made  with  them, 
for  the  satisfaction  of  which  no  appropriations  had  been  made. 

15.  Treat)/  of  1S4'^. — The  last  treaty  was  made  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  October  11,  1842 ; 
ratified  March  23.  1843.  It  was  made  at  the  Sac  and  Fox  agency  (Agency  City),  by  John 
Chambers,  Commissioner  on  behalf  of  the  United  States.  In  this  treaty  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians 
"  ceded  to  the  United  States  all  their  lands  west  of  the  Mississippi  to  which  they  had  any  claim 
or  title."  By  the  terms  rf  this  treaty  they  were  to  be  removed  from  the  country  at  the  expira- 
tion of  three  years,  and  all  who  remained  after  that  were  to  move  at  their  own  expense.  Part 
of  them  were  removed  to  Kansas  in  the  Fall  of  1845,  and  the  rest  the  Spring  following. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  163 


SPANISH  GRANTS. 

While  the  territory  now  embraced  in  the  State  of  Iowa  was  under  Spanish 
rule  as  a  part  of  its  province  of  Louisiana,  certain  claims  to  and  grants  of  land 
were  made  by  the  Spanish  authorities,  with  which,  in  addition  to  the  extinguishment 
of  Indian  titles,  the  United  States  had  to  deal.  It  is  proper  that  these  should 
be  briefly  reviewed. 

Dubuque. — On  the  22d  day  of  September,  1788,  Julien  Dubuque,  a  French- 
man, from  Prairie  du  Chien,  obtained  from  the  Foxes  a  cession  or  lease  of  hxnds 
on  the  INIississippi  River  for  mining  purposes,  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Dubuque.  Lead  had  been  discovered  here  eight  years  before,  in  1780,  by  the 
wife  of  Peosta  Fox,  a  warrior,  and  Dubuque's  claim  embraced  nearly  all  the  lead 
bearing  lands  in  that  vicinity.  He  immediately  took  possession  of  his  claim  and 
commenced  mining,  at  the  same  time  making  a  settlement.  The  place  became 
known  as  the  "Spanish  Miners,"  or,  more  commonly,  "Dubuque's  Lead 
Mines." 

In  1796,  Dubuque  filed  a  petition  with  Baron  de  Carondelet,  the  Spanish 
Governor  of  Louisiana,  asking  that  the  tract  ceded  to  him  by  the  Indians  might 
be  granted  to  him  by  patent  from  the  Spanish  Government.  In  this  petition, 
Dubuque  rather  indefinitely  set  forth  the  boundaries  of  this  claim  as  "about 
seven  leagues  along  the  Mississippi  River,  and  three  leagues  in  width  from  the 
river,"  intending  to  include,  as  is  supposed,  the  river  front  between  the  Little 
Maquoketa  and  the  Tete  des  Mertz  Rivers,  embracing  more  than  twenty  thou- 
sand acres.  Carondelet  granted  the  prayer  of  the  petition,  and  the  grant  was 
subsequently  confirmed  by  the  Board  of  Land  Commissioners  of  Louisiana. 

In  October,  1804,  Dubuque  transferred  the  larger  part  of  his  claim  to 
Auguste  Choteau,  of  St.  Louis,  and  on  the  17th  of  May,  1805,  he  and  Choteau 
jointly  filed  their  claims  with  the  Board  of  Commissioners.  On  the  20th  of 
September,  1806,  the  Board  decided  in  their  favor,  pronouncing  the  claim  to  be 
a  regular  Spanish  grant,  made  and  completed  prior  to  the  1st  day  of  October, 
1800,  only  one  member,  J.  B.  C.  Lucas,  dissenting. 

Dubuque  died  March  24,  1810.  The  Indians,  understanding  that  the  claim 
of  Dubuque  under  their  former  act  of  cession  was  only  a  permit  to  occupy  the 
tract  and  work  the  mines  during  his  life,  and  that  at  his  death  they  reverted  to 
them,  took  possession  and  continued  mining  operations,  and  were  sustained  by 
the  military  authority  of  the  L^nited  States,  notwithstanding  the  decision  of  the 
Commissioners.  When  the  Black  Hawk  purchase  was  consummated,  the  Du- 
buque claim  thus  held  by  the  Indians  was  absorbed  by  the  L^nited  States,  as  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes  made  no  reservation  of  it  in  the  treaty  of  1832. 

The  heirs  of  Choteau,  however,  were  not  disposed  to  relinquish  then'  claim 
without  a  struggle.  Late  in  1832,  they  employed  an  agent  to  look  after  their 
interests,  and  authorized  him  to  lease  the  right  to  dig  lead  on  the  lands.  The 
miners  who  commenced  work  under  this  agent  were  compelled  by  the  military  to 
abandon  their  operations,  and  one  of  the  claimants  Avent  to  Galena  to  institute 
legal  proceedings,  but  found  no  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  although  he  did 
bring  an  action  for  the  recovery  of  a  quantity  of  lead  dug  at  Dubuque,  for  the 
purpose  of  testing  the  title.  Being  unable  to  identify  the  lead,  however,  he  was 
non-suited. 

By  act  of  Congress,  approved  July  2,  1836,  the  town  of  Dubuque  was  sur- 
veyed and  platted.  After  lots  had  been  sold  and  occupied  by  the  purchasers, 
Henry  Choteau   brought  an  action  of  ejectment  against  Patrick  Malony,  who 


164  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

held  land  in  Dubuque  under  a  patent  from  the  United  States,  for  the  recovery 
of  seven^undivided  eighth  parts  of  the  Dubuque  claim,  as  purchased  by  Auguste 
Choteau  in  1804.  The  case  was  tried  in  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States 
for  the  District  of  Iowa,  and  was  decided  adversely  to  the  plaintiff.  The  case  was 
carried  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  on  a  writ  of  error,  when  it 
was  heard  at  the  December  term,  1853,  and  the  decision  of  the  lower  court  was 
affirmed,  the  court  holding  that  the  permit  from  Carondolet  was  merely  a  lease 
or  permit  to  work  the  mines  ;  that  Dubuque  asked,  and  the  Governor  of  Louisiana 
granted,  nothing  more  than  the  "  peaceable  possession  "  of  certain  lands  obtained 
from  the  Indians ;  that  Carondelet  had  no  legal  authority  to  make  snch  a  grant 
as  claimed,  and  that,  even  if  he  had,  this  was  but  an  "  inchoate  and  imperfect 
title." 

Criard. — In  1795,  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  Upper  Louisiana  granted  to 
Basil  Giai'd  five  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  in  what  is  now 
Clayton  County,  known  as  the  "  Giarcl  Tract."  He  occupied  the  land  during 
the  time  that  Iowa  passed  from  Spain  to  France,  and  from  France  to  the  United 
States,  in  consideration  of  which  the  Federal  Government  granted  a  patent  of 
the  same  to  Giard  in  his  own  right.  His  heirs  sold  the  whole  tract  to  James  H. 
Lockwood  and  Thomas  P.  Burnett,  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  for  three  hundred  dollars. 

Sonori. — March  30,  1799,  Zenon  Trudeau,  Acting  Lieutenant  Governor  of 
Upper  Louisiana,  granted  to  Louis  Honori  a  tract  of  land  on  the  site  of  the 
present  town  of  Montrose,  as  follows  :  "  It  is  permitted  to  Mr.  Louis  (Fresson) 
Henori,  or  Louis  Honore  Fesson,  to  establish  himself  at  the  head  of  the  rapids 
of  the  River  Des  Moines,  and  his  establishment  once  formed,  notice  of  it  shall  be 
given  to  the  Governor  General,  in  order  to  obtain  for  him  a  commission  of  a  space 
sufficient  to  give  value  to  such  establishment,  and  at  the  same  time  to  render  it 
useful  to  the  commerce  of  the  peltries  of  this  country,  to  watch  the  Indians  and 
keep  them  in  the  fidelity  which  they  OAve  to  His  Majesty." 

Honori  took  immediate  possession  of  his  claim,  which  he  retained  until  1805. 
While  trading  with  the  natives,  he  became  indebted  to  Joseph  Robedoux,  who 
obtained  an  execution  on  Avhich  the  property  was  sold  May  13,  1803,  and  was 
purchased  by  the  creditor.  In  these  proceedings  the  property  was  described  as 
being  "  about  six  leagues  above  the  River  Des  Moines."  Robedoux  died  soon 
after  he  purchased  the  proprerty.  Auguste  Choteau,  his  executor,  disposed  of 
the  Honori  tract  to  Thomas  F.  Reddeck,  in  April,  1805,  up  to  which  time 
Honori  continued  to  occupy  it.  The  grant,  as  made  by  the  Spanish  government, 
was  a  league  square,  but  only  one  mile  square  was  confirmed  by  the  Uuited 
States.  After  the  half-breeds  sold  their  lands,  in  which  the  Honori  grant  was 
included,  various  claimants  resorted  to  litigation  in  attempts  to  invalidate  the 
title  of  the  Reddeck  heirs,  but  it  was  finally  confirmed  by  a  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  1839,  and  is  the  oldest  legal  title  to  any 
land  in  the  State  of  Iowa. 

THE  HALF-BREED  TRACT. 

Before  any  permanent  settlement  had  been  made  in  the  Territory  of  Iowa, 
white  adventurers,  trappers  and  traders,  many  of  whom  were  scattered  along 
the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  as  agents  and  employes  of  the  American  Fur 
Company,  intermarried  with  the  females  of  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  producing 
a  race  of  half-breeds,  whose  number  was  never  definitely  ascertamed.  There 
were  some  respectable  and  excellent  people  among  them,  children  of  men  of 
some  refinement  and  education.    For  instance :  Dr.  Muir,  a  gentleman  educated 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  165 

at  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  a  surgeon  in  the  United  States  Army,  stationed  at  a 
military  post  located  on  the  present  site  of  Warsaw,  married  an  Indian  woman, 
and  reared  his  family  of  three  daughters  in  the  city  of  Keokuk.  Other  exam- 
ples might  be  cited,  but  they  are  probably  exceptions  to  the  general  rule,  and 
the  race  is  now  nearly  or  quite  extinct  in  Iowa. 

A  treaty  Avas  made  at  Washington,  August  4,  1824,  between  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes  and  the  United  States,  by  which  that  portion  of  Lee  County  was  reserved 
to  the  half-breeds  of  those  tribes,  and  which  was  after >vard  known  as  "  The 
Half-Breed  Tract."  This  reservation  is  the  triangular  piece  of  land,  containing 
about  119,000  acres,  lying  between  the  Mississippi  andDes  Moines  Rivers.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  prolongation  of  the  northern  line  of  Missouri. 
This  line  Avas  intended  to  be  a  straight  one,  running  due  east,  which  would  have 
caused  it  to  strike  the  Mississippi  River  at  or  below  Montrose ;  but  the  surveyor  who 
run  it  took  no  notice  of  the  change  in  the  variation  of  the  needle  as  he  proceeded 
eastward,  and,  in  consequence,  the  line  he  run  was  bent,  deviating  more  and  more 
to  the  northward  of  a  direct  line  as  he  approached  the  Mississippi,  so  that  it 
struck  that  river  at  the  lower  edge  of  the  town  of  Fort  Madison.  "  This  errone- 
ous line,"  says  Judge  Mason,  "has  been  acquiesced  in  as  well  in  fixing  the 
northern  limit  of  the  Half-Breed  Tract  as  in  determining  the  northern  boundary 
line  of  the  State  of  Missouri."  The  line  thus  run  included  in  the  reservation 
a  portion  of  the  lower  part  of  the  city  of  Fort  Madison,  and  all  of  the  present 
townships  of  Van  Buren,  Charleston,  Jefierson,  Des  Moines,  Montrose  and 
Jackson - 

Under  the  treaty  of  1824,  the  half-breeds  had  the  right  to  occupy  the  soil, 
but  could  not  convey  it,  the  reversion  being  reserved  to  the  United  States.  But 
on  the  30th  day  of  January,  1834,  by  act  of  Congress,  this  reversionary  right 
was  relinquished,  and  the  half-breeds  acquired  the  lands  in  fee  simple.  This 
,was  no  sooner  done,  than  a  horde  of  speculators  rushed  in  to  buy  land  of  the 
half-breed  owners,  and,  in  many  instances,  a  gun,  a  blanket,  a  pony  or  a  few 
quarts  of  whisky  was  sufiicient  for  the  purchase  of  large  estates.  There  was 
a  deal  of  sharp  practice  on  both  sides ;  Indians  Avould  often  claim  ownership  of 
land  by  virtue  of  being  half-breeds,  and  had  no  difficulty  in  proving  their  mixed 
blood  by  the  Indians,  and  they  Avould  then  cheat  the  speculators  by  selling  land 
to  which  they  had  no  rightful  title.  On  the  other  hand,  speculators  often 
claimed  land  in  which  they  had  no  ownership.  It  was  diamond  cut  diamond, 
until  at  last  things  became  badly  mixed.  There  were  no  authorized  surveys, 
and  no  boundary  lines  to  claims,  and,  as  a  natural  result,  numerous  conflicts  and 
quarrels  ensued. 

To  settle  these  difficulties,  to  decide  the  validity  of  claims  or  sell  them  for 
the  benefit  of  the  real  owners,  by  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Wisconsin  Territory, 
approved  January  16,  1838,  Edward  Johnstone,  Thomas  S.  Wilson  and  David 
Brigham  were  appointed  Commissioners,  and  clothed  with  power  to  effect  these 
objects.  The  act  provided  that  these  Commissioners  should  be  paid  six  dollars 
a  day  each.  The  commission  entered  upon  its  duties  and  continued  until  the 
next  session  of  the  Legislature,  when  the  act  creating  it  was  repealed,  invalidat- 
ing all  that  had  been  done  and  depriving  the  Commissioners  of  their  pay.  The 
repealing  act,  however,  authorized  the  Commissioners  to  commence  action  against 
the  owners  of  the  Half-Breed  Tract,  to  receive  pay  for  their  services,  in  the  Dis- 
trict Court  of  Lee  County.  Two  judgments  were  obtained,  and  on  execution 
the  whole  of  the  tract  Avas  sold  to  Hugh  T.  Rcid,  the  Sheriff  executing  the 
deed.  Mr.  Reid  sold  portions  of  it  to  various  parties,  but  his  OAvn  title  Avas 
questioned  and  he  became  involved  in  litigation.     Decisions  in  favor  of  Reid 


166  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

and  those  holding  under  him  were  made  by  both  District  and  Supreme  Courts, 
but  in  December,  1850,  these  decisions  were  finally  reversed  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  in  the  case  of  Joseph  Webster,  plaintiff  in  error,  vs. 
Hugh  T.  Reid,  and  the  judgment  titles  failed.  About  nine  years  before  the 
"judgment  titles  "  were  finally  abrogated  as  above,  another  class  of  titles  were 
brought  into  competition  with  them,  and  in  the  conflict  between  the  two,  the 
final  decision  was  obtained.  These  were  the  titles  based  on  the  "  decree  of 
partition  "  issued  by  the  United  States  District  Court  for  the  Territory  of  Iowa, 
on  the  8th  of  May,  1841,  and  certified  to  by  the  Clerk  on  the  2d  day  of  June  of 
that  year.  Edward  Johnstone  and  Hugh  T.  Reid,  then  law  partners  at  Fort 
Madison,  filed  the  petition  for  the  decree  in  behalf  of  the  St.  Louis  claimants  of 
half-breed  lands.  "Francis  S.  Key,  author  of  the  Star  Spangled  Banner,  who 
was  then  attorney  for  the  New  York  Land  Company,  which  held  heavy  interests 
in  these  lands,  took  a  leading  part  in  the  measure,  and  drew  up  the  document  in 
which  it  was  presented  to  the  court.  Judge  Charles  Mason,  of  Burlington,  pre- 
sided. The  plan  of  partition  divided  the  tract  into  one  hundred  and  one  shares 
and  arranged  that  each  claimant  should  draw  his  proportion  by  lot,  and  should 
abide  the  result,  whatever  it  might  be.  The  arrangement  was  entered  into,  the 
lots  drawn,  and  the  plat  of  the  same  filed  in  the  Recorder's  office,  October  6, 
1841.     Upon  this  basis  the  titles  to  land  in  the  Half-Breed  Tract  are  now  held. 


EARLY  SETTLEMENTS. 

The  first  permanent  settlement  by  the  whites  within  the  limits  of  Iowa  was 
made  by  Julien  Dubuque,  in  1788,  when,  with  a  small  party  of  miners,  he  set- 
tled on  the  site  of  the  city  that  now  bears  his  name,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death,  in  1810.  Louis  Honori  settled  on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Mon- 
trose, probably  in  1799,  and  resided  there  until  1805,  when  his  property  passed 
into  other  hands.  Of  the  Giard  settlement,  opposite  Prairie  du  Chien,  little  is 
known,  except  that  it  was  occupied  by  some  parties  prior  to  the  commencement 
of  the  present  century,  and  contained  three  cabins  in  1805.  Indian  traders, 
although  not  strictly  to  be  considered  settlers,  had  established  themselves  at 
various  points  at  an  early  date.  A  Mr.  Johnson,  agent  of  the  American  Fur 
Company,  had  a  trading  post  below  Burlington,  where  he  carried  on  traffic  with 
the  Indians  some  time  before  the  United  States  possessed  the  country.  In 
1820,  Le  Moliese,  a  French  trader,  had  a  station  at  what  is  now  Sandusky,  six 
miles  above  Keokuk,  in  Lee  County.  In  1829,  Dr.  Isaac  Gallaud  made  a  set- 
tlement on  the  Lower  Rapids,  at  what  is  now  Nashville. 

The  first  settlement  in  Lee  County  was  made  in  1820,  by  Dr.  Samuel  C. 
Muir,  a  surgeon  in  the  United  States  army,  who  had  been  stationed  at  Fort 
Edv/ards,  now  Warsaw,  111.,  and  who  built  a  cabin  where  the  city  of  Keokuk 
now  stands.  Dr.  Muir  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and  irreproachable  char- 
acter. While  stationed  at  a  military  post  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  he  had 
married  an  Indian  woman  of  the  Fox  nation.  Of  his  marriage,  the  following 
romantic  account  is  given  : 

The  post  at  which  he  was  stationed  was  yisitod  by  a  beautiful  Indian  maiden — whose  native 
name,  unfortunately,  has  not  been  preserved — who,  in  her  dreams,  had  seen  a  white  brave  un- 
moor his  canoe,  paddle  it  across  the  river  and  come  directly  to  her  lodge.  She  felt  assured, 
according  to  the  superstitious  belief  of  her  race,  that,  in  her  dreams,  she  had  seen  her  future 
husband,  and  had  come  to  the  fort  to  iind  him.  Meeting  Dr.  Muir,  she  instantly  recognized 
him  as  the  hei'O  of  her  dream,  which,  with  childlike  innocence  and  simplicity,  she  related  lo 
him.  Her  dream  was,  indeed,  prophetic.  Charmed  with  Sophia's  beauty,  innocence  and  devo- 
tion, the  doctor  honorably  married  her;  but  after  a  while,  the  sneers  and  gibes  of  his  brother 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  167 

officers — less  honorable  than  he,  perhaps— made  him  feel  ashamed  of  his  dark-skinned  wife,  and 
when  his  regiment  was  ordered  down  the  river,  to  Bellefontaine,  it  is  said  he  embraced  the 
opportunity  to  rid  himself  of  her,  and  left  her,  never  expecting  to  see  her  again,  and  little 
dreaming  thai,  she  would  have  the  courage  to  follow  him.  But,  with  her  infant  child,  this  in- 
trepid wife  and  mother  started  alone  in  her  canoe,  and,  after  many  days  of  weary  labor  and  a 
lonely  journey  of  nine  hundred  miles,  she,  at  last,  reached  him.  She  afterward  remarked,  when 
speaking  of  this  toilsome  journey  down  the  river  in  search  of  her  husband,  "  When  I  got  there 
I  was  all  perished  away — so  thin  !  "  The  doctor,  touched  by  .such  unexampled  devotion,  took  her 
to  liis  heart,  and  ever  after,  until  his  death,  treated  her  with  marked  respect.  She  always  pre- 
sided at  bistable  with  grace  and  dignity,  but  never  abandoned  her  native  style  of  dress.  In 
1819-20,  he  was  stationed  at  Fort  Edward,  but  the  senseless  ridicule  of  some  of  his  brother 
ofBcers  on  account  of  his  Indian  wife  induced  him  to  resign  his  commission. 

After  building  his  cabin,  as  above  stated,  he  leased  his  claim  for  a  term  of  years  to  Otis 
Reynolds  and  John  Culver,  of  St.  Louis,  and  went  to  La  Pointe,  afterward  Galena,  where  he 
practiced  his  profession  for  ten  years,  when  he  returned  to  Keokuk.  His  Indian  wife  bore  to 
him  four  children — Louise  (married  at  Keokuk,  since  dead),  James,  (drowned  at  Keokuk),  Mary 
and  Sophia.  Dr.  Muir  died  suddenly  of  cholera,  in  1832,  but  left  his  property  m  such  condition 
that  it  was  soon  wasted  in  vexatious  litigation,  and  his  brave  and  faithful  wife,  left  friendless  and 
penniless,  became  discouraged,  and,  with  her  children,  disappeared,  and,  it  is  said,  returned  to 
her  people  on  the  Upper  Missouri. 

Messrs.  Reynolds  &  Culver,  who  had  leased  Dr.  Muir's  claim  at  Keokuk, 
subsequently  employed  as  their  agent  Mr.  Moses  Stillwell,  Avho  arrived  with 
his  family  in  1828,  and  took  possession  of  Muir's  cabin.  His  brothers-in-law, 
Amos  and  Valencourt  Van  Ansdal,  came  with  him  and  settled  near. 

His  daughter,  Margaret  Stillwell  (afterward  Mrs.  Ford)  was  born  in  1831, 
at  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  called  by  the  Indians  Puch-a-she-tuck,  where  Keokuk 
now  stands.      She  was  probably  the  first  white  American  child  born  in  Iowa. 

In  1831,  Mr.  Johnson,  Agent  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  who  had  a 
station  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  removed  to  another  location,  and,  Dr.  Muir 
having  returned  from  Galena,  he  and  Isaac  R.  Campbell  took  the  place  and 
buildings  vacated  by  the  Company  and  carried  on  trade  with  the  Indians  and 
half-breeds.  Campbell,  who  had  first  visited  and  traveled  through  the  southern 
part  of  Iowa,  in  1821,  was  an  enterprising  settler,  and  besides  trading  with  the 
natives  carried  on  a  farm  and  kept  a  tavern. 

Dr.  Muir  died  of  cholera  in  1832. 

In  1830,  James  L.  and  Lucius  H.  Langworthy,  brothers  and  natives  of 
Verrtiont,  visited  the  Territory  for  the  purpose  of  working  the  lead  mines  at  Du- 
buque. They  had  been  engaged  in  lead  mining  at  Galena,  Illinois,  the  former 
from  as  early  as  1824.  The  lead  mines  in  the  Dubuque  region  were  an  object 
of  great  interest  to  the  miners  about  Galena,  for  they  Avere  known  to  be  rich  in 
lead  ore.  To  explore  these  mines  and  to  obtain  permission  to  work  them  was 
therefore  eminently  desirable. 

In  1829,  James  L.  Langworthy  resolved  to  visit  the  Dubuque  mines.  Cross- 
ing the  Mississippi  at  a  point  now  known  as  Dunleith,  in  a  canoe,  and  swim- 
ming his  horse  by  his  side,  he  landed  on  the  spot  now  knoAvn  as  Jones  Street 
Levee.  Before  him  spread  out  a  beautiful  prairie,  on  which  the  city  of  Du- 
buque now  stands.  Two  miles  south,  at  the  mouth  of  Catfish  Creek,  was  a  vil- 
lage of  Sacs  and  Foxes.  Thither  Mr.  Langworthy  proceeded,  and  was  well  re- 
ceived by  the  natives.  He  endeavored  to  obtain  permission  from  them  to  mine 
in  their  hills,  but  this  they  refused.  He,  however,  succeeded  in  gaining  the  con- 
fidence of  the  chief  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  allowed  to  travel  in  the  interior 
for  three  weeks  and  explore  the  country.  He  employed  two  young  Indians  as 
guides,  and  traversed  in  diiforent  directions  the  whole  region  lying  between  the 
Maquoketa  and  Turkey  Rivers.  He  returned  to  the  village,  secured  the  good 
will  of  the  Indians,  and,  returning  to  Galena,  formed  plans  for  future  opera- 
tions, to  be  executed  as  soon  as  circumstances  would  permit. 


168  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

In  1830,  with  his  brother,  Lucius  H.,  and  others,  having  obtained  the  con- 
sent of  the  Indians,  Mr.  Langworthy  crossed  the  Mississippi  and  commenced 
mining  in  the  vicinity  around  Dubuque. 

At  this  time,  the  lands  were  not  in  the  actual  possession  of  the  United  States. 
Although  they  had  been  purchased  from  France,  the  Indian  title  had  not  been 
extinguished,  and  these  adventurous  persons  were  beyond  the  limits  of  any  State 
or  Territorial  government.  The  first  settlers  were  therefore  obliged  to  be  their 
own  law-makers,  and  to  agree  to  such  regulations  as  the  exigencies  of  the  case 
demanded.  The  first  act  resembling  civil  legislation  within  the  limits  of  the 
present  State  of  Iowa  was  done  by  the  miners  at  this  point,  in  June,  1830.  They 
met  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  by  the  side  of  an  old  cottonwood  drift  log,  at 
what  is  now  the  Jones  Street  Levee,  Dubuque,  and  elected  a  Committee,  con- 
sisting of  J.  L.  Langworthy,  H.  F.  Lander,  James  McPhetres,  Samuel  Scales, 
and  E.  M.  Wren.  This  may  be  called  the  first  Legislature  in  Iowa,  the  mem- 
bers of  which  gathered  around  that  old  cottonwood  log,  and  agreed  to  and  re- 
ported the  following,  written  by  Mr.  Langworthy,  on  a  half  sheet  of  coarse,  un- 
ruled paper,  the  old  log  being  the  writing  desk  : 

We,  a  Comniiltee  having  been  chosen  to  draft  certain  rules  and  regulations  (laws)  by 
which  we  as  miners  will  be  governed,  and  having  duly  considered  the  subject,  do  unanimously 
agree  that  we  will  be  governed  by  the  regulations  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  River,*  with 
the  following  exceptions,  to  wit : 

Afticl-r  I.  That  each  and  every  man  shall  hold  200  yards  square  of  ground  by  working 
said  ground  one  day  in  six. 

Articlf-  If.  AVe  further  agree  that  there  shall  be  chosen,  by  the  majority  of  the  miners 
present,  a  person  who  shall  hold  this  article,  and  who  shall  grant  letters  of  arbitration  on  appli- 
cation having  been  made,  and  that  said  letters  of  arbitration  shall  be  obligatory  on  the  parties  so 
applying. 

The  report  was  accepted  by  the  miners  present,  who  elected  Dr.  Jarote,  in 
accordance  with  Article  2.  Here,  then,  we  have,  in  1830,  a  primitive  Legisla- 
ture elected  by  the  people,  the  law  drafted  by  it  being  submitted  to  the  people 
for  approval,  and  under  it  Dr.  Jarote  was  elected  first  Governor  within  the 
limits  of  the  present  State  of  Iowa.  And  it  is  to  be  said  that  the  laws  thus 
enacted  were  as  promptly  obeyed,  and  the  acts  of  the  executive  officer  thus 
elected  as  duly  respected,  as  any  have  been  since. 

The  miners  who  had  thus  erected  an  independent  government  of  their  own 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi  River  continued  to  work  successfully  for  a 
long  time,  and  the  new  settlement  attracted  considerable  attention.  But  the 
west  side  of  the  Mississippi  belonged  to  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  and  the  Gov- 
ernment, in  order  to  preserve  peace  on  the  frontier,  as  well  as  to  protect  the 
Indians  in  their  rights  under  the  treaty,  ordered  the  settlers  not  only  to  stop 
mining,  but  to  remove  from  the  Indian  territory.  They  were  simply  intruders. 
The  execution  of  this  order  was  entrusted  to  Col.  Zachary  Taylor,  then  in  com- 
mand of  the  military  post  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  who,  early  in  July,  sent  an  officer 
to  the  miners  with  orders  to  forbid  settlement,  and  to  command  the  miners  to 
remove  within  ten  days  to  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  or  they  would  be 
driven  off"  by  armed  force.  The  miners,  however,  were  reluctant  about  leaving 
the  rich  "  leads  "  they  had  already  discovered  and  opened,  and  were  not  dis- 
posed to  obey  the  order  to  remove  with  any  considerable  degree  of  alacrity.  In 
due  time.  Col.  Taylor  dispatched  a  detachment  of  troops  to  enforce  his  order.  The 
miners,  anticipating  their  arrival,  had,  excepting  three,  recrossed  the  river,  and 
from  the  east  bank  saw  the  troops  land  on  the  western  shore.  The  three  Avho 
had  lingered  a  little  too  long  Avere,  however,  permitted  to  make  their  escape 


*  Established  by  the  Superintendent  of  U.  S.  Lead  Mines  at  Fever  River. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  169 

unmolested.  From  this  time,  a  military  force  was  stationed  at  Dubuque  to 
prevent  the  settlers  from  returning,  until  June,  1832.  The  Indians  returned, 
and  were  encouaged  to  operate  the  rich  mines  opened  by  the  late  white 
occupants. 

In  June,  1832,  the  troops  were  ordered  to  the  east  side  to  assist  in  the 
annihilation  of  the  very  Indians  whose  rights  they  had  been  protecting  on  the 
west  side.  Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  and  the  negotia- 
tions of  the  treaty  in  September,  1832,  by  which  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  ceded  to 
the  United  States  the  tract  known  as  the  "Black  Hawk  Purchase,"  the  set- 
tlers, supposing  that  now  they  had  a  right  to  re-enter  the  territory,  returned 
and  took  possession  of  their  claims,  built  cabins,  erected  furnaces  and  prepared 
large  quantities  of  lead  for  market.  Dubuque  was  becoming  a  noted  place  on 
the  river,  but  the  prospects  of  the  hardy  and  enterprising  settlers  and  miners 
were  again  ruthlessly  interfered  with  by  the  Government,  on  the  ground  that 
the  treaty  with  the  Indians  would  not  go  into  force  until  June  1, 1833,  although 
they  had  withdrawn  from  the  vicinity  of  the  settlement.  Col.  Taylor  was  again 
ordered  by  the  War  Department  to  remove  the  miners,  and  in  January,  1833, 
troops  were  again  sent  from  Prairie  du  Chien  to  Dubuque  for  that  purpose. 
This  was  a  serious  and  perhaps  unnecessary  hardship  imposed  upon  the  settlers. 
They  were  compelled  to  abandon  their  cabins  and  homes  in  mid-winter.  It 
must  now  be  said,  simply,  that  "red  tape"  should  be  respected.  The  purchase 
had  been  made,  the  treaty  ratified,  or  was  sure  to  be ;  the  Indians  had  retired, 
and,  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  fifty  years,  no  very  satisfactory  reason  for  this 
rigorous  action  of  the  Government  can  be  given. 

But  the  orders  had  been  given,  and  there  was  no  alternative  but  to  obey. 
Many  of  the  settlers  recrossed  the  river,  and  did  not  return ;  a  few,  however, 
removed  to  an  island  near  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  built  rude  cabins  of  poles, 
in  which  to  store  their  lead  until  Spring,  when  they  could  float  the  fruits  of 
their  labor  to  St.  Louis  for  sale,  and  where  they  could  remain  until  the  treaty 
went  into  force,  when  they  could  return.  Among  these  were  James  L.  Lang- 
worthy,  and  his  brother  Lucius,  who  had  on  hand  about  three  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  lead. 

Lieut.  Covington,  who  had  been  placed  in  command  at  Dubuque  by  Col. 
Taylor,  ordered  some  of  the  cabins  of  the  settlers  to  be  torn  down,  and  wagons 
and  other  property  to  be  destroyed.  This  wanton  and  inexcusable  action  on 
the  part  of  a  subordinate  clothed  with  a  little  brief  authority  was  stei'nly 
rebuked  by  Col.  Taylor,  and  Covington  was  superseded  by  Lieut.  George  Wil- 
son, who  pursued  a  just  and  friendly  course  with  the  pioneers,  who  were  only 
waiting  for  the  time  when  they  could  repossess  their  claims. 

June  1,  1833,  the  treaty  formally  went  into  effect,  the  troops  were  withdrawn, 
and  the  Langworthy  brothers  and  a  few  others  at  once  returned  and  resumed 
possession  of  their  home  claims  and  mineral  prospects,  and  from  this  time  the 
first  permanent  settlement  of  this  portion  of  Iowa  must  date.  Mr.  John  P. 
Sheldon  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  the  mines  by  the  Government,  and  a 
system  of  permits  to  miners  and  licenses  to  smelters  was  adopted,  similar  to  that 
which  had  been  in  operation  at  Galena,  since  1825,  under  Lieut.  Martin  Thomas 
and  Capt.  Thomas  C.  Legate.  Substantially  the  primitive  law  enacted  by  the 
miners  assembled  around  that  old  cottonwood  drift  log  in  1830  was  adopted  and 
enforced  by  the  United  States  Government,  except  that  miners  were  required  to 
sell  their  mineral  to  licensed  smelters  and  the  smelter  was  required  to  give  bonds 
for  the  payment  of  six  per  cent,  of  all  lead  manufactured  to  the  Government. 
This  was  the  same  rule  adopted  in  the  United  States  mines  on  Fever  River  in 


170  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

Illinois,  except  that,  until  1830,  the  Illinois  miners  were  compelled  to  pay  10 
per  cent.  tax.  This  tax  upon  the  miners  created  much  dissatisfaction  among 
the  miners  on  the  west  side  as  it  had  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi.  They 
thought  they  had  suffered  hardships  and  privations  enough  in  opening  the  way 
for  civilization,  without  being  subjected  to  the  imposition  of  an  odious  Govern- 
ment tax  upon  their  means  of  subsistence,  when  the  Federal  Government  could 
better  afford  to  aid  than  to  extort  from  them.  The  measure  soon  became  unpop- 
ular. It  was  difficult  to  collect  the  taxes,  and  the  whole  system  was  abolished 
in  about  ten  years. 

During  1833,  after  the  Indian  title  was  fully  extinguished,  about  five  hun- 
dred people  arrived  at  the  mining  district,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  them 
from  Galena. 

In  the  same  year,  Mr.  Langworthy  assisted  in  building  the  first  school  house 
in  Iowa,  and  thus  was  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  now  populous  and  thriving 
City  of  Dubuque.  Mr.  Langworthy  lived  to  see  the  naked  prairie  on  which  he 
first  landed  become  the  site  of  a  city  of  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants,  the  small 
school  house  Avhich  he  aided  in  constructing  replaced  by  three  substantial  edifices, 
wherein  two  thousand  children  Avere  being  trained,  churches  erected  in  every 
part  of  the  city,  and  railroads  connecting  the  wilderness  which  he  first  explored 
with  all  the  eastern  world.  .  He  died  suddenly  on  the  13th  of  March,  1865, 
while  on  a  trip  over  the  Dubuque  &  Southwestern  Railroad,  at  Monticello,. 
and  the  evening  train  brought  the  news  of  his  death  and  his  remains. 

Lucius  H.  Langworthy,  his  brother,  was  one  of  the  most  worthy,  gifted  and 
influential  of  the  old  settlers  of  this  section  of  Iowa.  He  died,  greatly  lamented 
by  many  friends,  in  June,  1865. 

The  name  Dubuque  was  given  to  the  settlement  by  the  miners  at  a  meeting 
held  in  1834. 

In  1832,  Captain  James  White  made  a  claim  on  the  present  site  of  Montrose. 
In  1834,  a  military  post  was  established  at  this  point,  and  a  garrison  of  cavalry 
was  stationed  here,  under  the  command  of  Col.  Stephen  W.  Kearney.  The 
soldiers  were  removed  from  this  post  to  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  in  1837. 

During  the  same  year,  1832,  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Black  Hawk  War, 
Zachariah  Hawkins,  Benjamin  Jennings,  Aaron  White,  Augustine  Horton, 
Samuel  Gooch,  Daniel  Thompson  and  Peter  Williams  made  claims  at  Fort 
Madison.  In  1833,  these  claims  were  purchased  by  John  and  Nathaniel 
Knapp,  upon  which,  in  1835,  they  laid  out  the  town.  The  next  Summer,  lots 
were  sold.  The  town  was  subsequently  re-surveyed  and  platted  by  the  United 
States  Government. 

At  the  close  of  the  Black  Hawk  War.  parties  who  had  been  impatiently 
looking  across  upon  "Flint  Hills,"  now  Burlington,  came  over  from  Illinois 
and  made  claims  The  first  was  Samuel  S.  White,  in  the  Fall  of  1832,  who 
erected  a  cabin  on  the  site  of  the  city  of  Burlington.  About  the  same  time, 
David  Tothero  made  a  claim  on  the  prairie  about  three  miles  back  from  the 
river,  at  a  place  since  known  as  the  farm  of  Judge  Morgan.  In  the  Winter  of 
that  year,  they  were  driven  off  by  the  military  from  Rock  Island,  as  intruders 
upon  the  rights  of  the  Indians,  and  White's  cabin  was  burnt  by  the  soldiers. 
He  retired  to  Illinois,  where  he  spent  the  Winter,  and  in  the  Summer,  as  soon 
as  the  Indian  title  was  extinguished,  returned  and  rebuilt  his  cabin.  White 
was  joined  by  his  brother-in-law,  Doolittle,  and  they  laid  out  the  original  town 
of  Burlington  in  1834. 

All  along  the  river  borders  of  the  Black  Hawk  Purchase  settlers  were  flocking 
into  Iowa.     Immediately  after  the  treaty  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  in  Septem- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  171 

ber,  1832,  Col.  George  Davenport  made  the  first  claim  on  the  spot  where  the 
thriving  city  of  Davenport  now  stands.  As  early  as  1827,  Col.  Davenport  had 
established  a  flatboat  ferry,  which  ran  between  the  island  and  the  main  shore  of 
Iowa,  by  which  he  carried  on  a  trade  with  the  Indians  west  of  the  Mississippi. 
In  1833,  Capt.  Benjamin  W.  Clark  moved  across  from  Illinois,  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  town  of  Buffalo,  in  Scott  County,  which  was  the  first  actual 
settlement  within  the  limits  of  that  county.  Among  other  early  settlers  in  this 
part  of  the  Territory  were  Adrian  H.  Davenport,  Col.  John  Sullivan,  Mulli- 
gan and  Franklin  Easly,  Capt.  John  Coleman,  J.  M.  Camp,  William  White, 
H.  W.  Higgins,  Cornelius  Harrold,  Richard  Harrison,  E.  H.  Shepherd  and 
Dr.  E.  S.  Barrows. 

The  first  settlers  of  Davenport  were  Antoine  LeClaire,  Col.  George  Daven- 
port, Major  Thomas  Smith,  Major  William  Gordon,  Philip  Hambough,  Alexan- 
der W.  McGregor,  Levi  S.  Colton,  Capt.  James  May  and  others.  Of  Antoine 
LeClaire,  as  the  representative  of  the  two  races  of  men  who  at  this  time  occu- 
pied Iowa,  Hon.  C.  C.  Nourse,  in  his  admirable  Centennial  Address,  says : 
"•  Antoine  LeClaire  was  born  at  St.  Joseph,  Michigan,  in  1797.  His  father 
was  French,  his  mother  a  granddaughter  of  a  PottoAvatomie  chief.  In  1818, 
he  acted  as  official  interpreter  to  Col.  Davenport,  at  Fort  Armstrong  (now  Rock 
Island).  He  was  well  acquainted  with  a  dozen  Indian  dialects,  and  was  a  man 
of  strict  integrity  and  great  energy.  In  1820,  he  married  the  granddaughter 
of  a  Sac  chief.  The  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  reserved  for  him  and  his  wife  two 
sections  of  land  in  the  treaty  of  1833,  one  at  the  town  of  LeClaire  and  one  at 
Davenport.  The  Pottawatomies,  in  the  treaty  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  also 
reserved  for  him  two  sections  of  land,  at  the  present  site  of  Moline,  111.  He 
received  the  appointment  of  Postmaster  and  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  the  Black 
Hawk  Purchase,  at  an  early  day.  In  1833,  ho  bought  for  $100  a  claim  on  the 
land  upon  which  the  original  town  of  Davenport  was  surveyed  and  platted  in 
1836.  In  1836,  LeClaire  built  the  hotel,  known  since,  with  its  valuable  addi- 
tion, as  the  LeClaire  House.     He  died  September  25,  1861." 

In  Clayton  County,  the  first  settlement  was  made  in  the  Spring  of  1832, 
on  Turkey  River,  by  Robert  Hatfield  and  William  W.  Wayman.  No  further 
settlement  was  made  in  this  part  of  the  State  till  the  beginning  of  1836. 

In  that  portion  now  known  as  Muscatine  County,  settlements  were  made  in 
1831,  by  Benjamin  Nye,  John  Vanater  and  G.  W.  Kasey,  who  were  the  first 
settlers.  E.  E.  Fay,  William  St.  John,  N.  Fullington,  H.  Reece,  Jona  Petti- 
bone,  R.  P.  Lowe,  Stephen  Whicher,  Abijah  Whiting,  J.  E.  Fletcher,  W.  D. 
Abernethy  and  Alexis  Smith  were  early  settlers  of  Muscatine. 

During  the  Summer  of  1835,  William  Bennett  and  his  family,  from  Galena, 
built  the  first  cabin  within  the  present  limits  of  Delaware  County,  in  some 
timber  since  known  as  Eads'  Grove. 

The  first  post  ofiice  in  Iowa  was  established  at  Dubuque  in  1833.  Milo  H. 
Prentice  was  appointed  Postmaster. 

The  first  Justice  of  the  Peace  was  Antoine  Le  Claire,  appointed  in  1833,  as 
"  a  very  suitable  person  to  adjust  the  difficulties  between  the  white  settlers  and 
the  Indians  still  remainmg  there." 

The  first  Methodist  Society  in  the  Territory  was  formed  at  Dubuque  on 
the  18th  of  May,  1834,  and  the  first  class  meeting  was  held  June  1st  of  that 
year. 

The  first  church  bell  brought  into  Iowa  was  in  March,  1834. 

The  first  mass  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  the  Territory  was  celebrated 
at  Dubuque,  in  the  house  of  Patrick  Quigley,  in  the  Fall  of  1833. 


172  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

The  first  school  house  in  the  Territory  was  erected  by  the  Dubuque  miners 
in  1833. 

The  first  Sabbath  school  was  organized  at  Dubuque  early  in  the  Summer 
of  1834. 

The  first  woman  who  came  to  this  part  of  the  Territory  with  a  view  to  per- 
manent residence  was  Mrs.  Noble  F.  Dean,  in  the  Fall  of  1832. 

The  first  family  that  lived  in  this  part  of  Iowa  was  that  of  Hosea  T.  Camp, 
in  1832. 

The  first  meeting  house  was  built  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  at 
Dubuque,  in  1834. 

The  first  newspaper  in  Iowa  was  the  Dubuque  Visitor,  issued  May  11th,  1836. 
John  King,  afterward  Judge  King,  was  editor,  and  William   C.  Jones,  printer. 

The  pioneers  of  Iowa,  as  a  class,  were  brave,  hardy,  intelligent  and 
enterprising  people. 

As  early  as  1824,  a  French  trader  named  Hart  had  established  a  trading 
post,  and  built  a  cabin  on  the  bluffs  above  the  large  spring  now  known  as 
"  Mynster  Spring,"  within  the  limits  of  the  present  city  of  Council  Bluffs,  and 
had  probably  been  there  some  time,  as  the  post  was  known  to  the  employes  of 
the  American  Fur  Company  as  Laeote  de  Hart,  or  "  Hart's  Bluff."  In  1827, 
an  agent  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  Francis  Guittar,  Avith  others,  encamped 
in  the  timber  at  the  foot  of  the  bluffs,  about  on  the  present  location  of  Broad- 
way, and  afterward  settled  there.  In  1839,  a  block  house  was  built  on  the 
bluff  in  the  east  part  of  the  city.  The  Pottawatomie  Indians  occupied  this  part 
of  the  State  until  1846-7,  when  they  relinquished  the  territory  and  removed  to 
Kansas.  Billy  Caldwell  was  then  principal  chief.  There  were  no  white  settlers 
in  that  part  of  the  State  except  Indian  traders,  until  the  arrival  of  the  Mormons 
under  the  lead  of  Brigham  Young.  These  people  on  their  way  westAvard  halted 
for  the  Winter  of  1846-7  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Missouri  River,  about  five 
miles  above  Omaha,  at  a  place  now  called  Florence.  Some  of  them  had 
reached  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river  the  Spring  before,  in  season  to  plant  a 
crop.  In  the  Spring  of  1847,  Young  and  a  portion  of  the  colony  pursued  their 
journey  to  Salt  Lake,  but  a  large  portion  of  them  returned  to  the  Iowa  side  and 
settled  mainly  within  the  limits  of  Pottawattamie  County.  The  principal  settle- 
ment of  this  strange  community  was  at  a  place  first  called  "Miller's  Hollow," 
on  Indian  Creek,  and  afterward  named  Kanesville,  in  honor  of  Col.  Kane,  of 
Pennsylvania,  who  visited  them  soon  afterward.  The  Mormon  settlement 
extended  over  the  county  and  into  neighboring  counties,  wherever  timber  and 
water  furnished  desirable  locations.  Orson  Hyde,  priest,  lawyer  and  editor,  was 
installed  as  President  of  the  Quorum  of  Twelve,  and  all  that  part  of  the  State 
remained  under  Mormon  control  for  several  years.  In  1846,  they  raised  a  bat- 
talion, numbering  some  five  hundred  men,  for  the  Mexican  war.  In  1848,  Hyde 
started  a  paper  called  the  Frontier  Gruardian,  at  Kanesville.  In  1849,  after 
many  of  the  faithful  had  left  to  join  Brigham  Young  at  Salt  Lake,  the  Mormons 
in  this  section  of  Iowa  numbered  6,552,  and  in  1850,  7,828,  but  they  were  not 
all  Avithin  the  limits  of  Pottawattamie  County.  This  county  was  organized  in 
1848,  all  the  first  officials  being  Mormons.  In  1852,  the  order  was  promulgated 
that  all  the  true  believers  should  gather  together  at  Salt  Lake.  Gentiles  flocked 
in,  and  in  a  few  years  nearly  all  the  first  settlers  were  gone. 

May  9,  1843,  Captain  James  Allen,  with  a  small  detachment  of  troops  on 
board  the  steamer  lone,  arrived  at  the  present  site  of  the  capital  of  the  State, 
Des  Moines.  The  lone  was  the  first  steamer  to  ascend  the  Des  Moines  River 
to  this  point.     The  troops  and  stores  Avere  landed  at  what  is  noAV  the  foot  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  173 

Court  avenue,  Des  Moines,  and  Capt.  Allen  returned  in  the  steamer  to  Fort 
Sanford  to  arrange  for  bringing  up  more  soldiers  and  supplies.  In  due  time 
they,  too,  arrived,  and  a  fort  was  built  near  the  mouth  of  Raccoon  Fork,  at  its 
confluence  with  the  Des  Moines,  and  named  Fort  Des  Moines.  Soon  after  the 
arrival  of  the  troops,  a  trading  post  was  established  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
by  two  noted  Indian  traders  named  Ewing,  from  Ohio. 

Among  the  first  settlers  in  this  part  of  Iowa  were  Benjamin  Bryant,  J.  B. 
Scott,  James  Drake  (gunsmith),  John  Sturtevant,  Robert  Kinzie,  Alexander 
Turner,  Peter  Newcomer,  and  others. 

The  Western  States  have  been  settled  by  many  of  the  best  and  most  enter- 
prising men  of  the  older  States,  and  a  large  immigration  of  the  best  blood  of 
the  Old  World,  who,  removing  to  an  arena  of  larger  opportunities,  in  a  more 
fertile  soil  and  congenial  climate,  have  developed  a  spirit  and  an  energy 
peculiarly  Western.  In  no  country  on  the  globe  have  enterprises  of  all  kinds 
been  pushed  forward  with  such  rapidity,  or  has  there  been  such  independence 
and  freedom  of  competition.  Among  those  who  have  pioneered  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  West,  and  been  the  founders  of  great  States,  none  have  ranked 
higher  in  the  scale  of  intelligence  and  moral  worth  than  the  pioneers  of  Iowa, 
who  came  to  the  territory  when  it  was  an  Indian  country,  and  through  hardship, 
privation  and  suffering,  laid  the  foundations  of  the  populous  and  prosperous 
commonwealth  which  to-day  dispenses  its  blessings  to  a  million  and  a  ci[uarter 
of  people.  From  her  first  settlement  and  from  her  first  organization  as  a  terri- 
tory to  the  present  day,  Iowa  has  had  able  men  to  manage  her  affairs,  wise 
statesmen  to  shape  her  destiny  and  frame  her  laws,  and  intelligent  and  impartial 
jurists  to  administer  justice  to  her  citizens  ;  her  bar,  pulpit  and  press  have  been 
able  and  widely  influential ;  and  in  all  the  professions,  arts,  enterprises  and 
industries  which  go  to  make  up  a  great  and  prosperous  commonwealth,  she  has 
taken  and  holds  a  front  rank  among  her  sister  States  of  the  West. 


TERRITORIAL  HISTORY. 

By  act  of  Congress,  approved  October  31,  1803,  the  President  of  the  United 
States  was  authorized  to  take  possession  of  the  territory  included  in  the 
Louisiana  purchase,  and  provide  for  a  temporary  government.  By  another  act 
of  the  same  session,  approved  March  26,  1804,  the  newly  acquired  country  was 
divided,  October  1,  1804  into  the  Territory  of  Orleans,  south  of  the  thirty-third 
parallel  of  north  latitude,  and  the  district  of  Louisiana,  which  latter  was  placed 
under  the  authority  of  the  officers  of  Indiana  Territory. 

In  1805,  the  District  of  Louisiana  was  organized  as  a  Territory  with  a  gov- 
ernment of  its  own.  In  1807,  Iowa  was  included  in  the  Territory  of  Illinois, 
and  in  1812  in  the  Territory  of  Missouri.  When  Missouri  was  admitted  as  a 
State,  March  2,  1821,  "  Iowa,"  says  Hon.  C.  C.  Nourse,  "was  left  a  political 
orphan,"  until  by  act  of  Congress,  approved  June  28,  1834,  the  Black  Hawk 
purchase  having  been  made,  all  the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  and  north 
of  the  northern  boundary  of  Missouri,  was  made  a  part  of  Michigan  Territory. 
Up  to  this  time  there  had  been  no  county  or  other  organization  in  what  is  now 
the  State  of  Iowa,  although  one  or  two  Justices  of  the  Peace  had  been  appointed 
and  a  post  office  was  established  at  Dubuque  in  1833.  In  September,  1834, 
however,  the  Territorial  Legislature  of  Michigan  created  two  counties  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Mississippi  River,  viz. :  Dubuque  and  Des  Moines,  separated 
by  a  line  drawn  westward  from  the  foot  of  Rock  Island.     These  counties  were 


174  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

partially  organized.  Jolm  King  -was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  Dubuque 
County,  and  Isaac  Leffler,  of  Burlington,  of  Des  Moines  County.  Two 
Associate  Justices,  in  each  county,  were  appointed  by  the  Governor. 

On  the  first  Monday  in  October,  1835,  Gen.  George  W.  Jones,  now  a  citi- 
zen of  Dubuque,  was  elected  a  Delegate  to  Congress  from  this  part  of  Michigan 
Territory.  On  the  20th  of  April,  1836,  through  the  efforts  of  Gen.  Jones, 
Congress  passed  a  bill  creating  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin,  which  went  into 
operation,  July  4,  1836,  and  Iowa  was  then  included  in 

THE   TERRITORY   OF   WISCONSIN, 

of  which  Gen.  Henry  Dodge  was  appointed  Governor:  John  S.  Horner,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Territory  ;  Charles  Dunn,  Chief  Justice  ;  David  Irwin  and  William 
C.  Frazer,  Associate  Justices. 

September  9,  1836,  Governor  Dodge  ordered  the  census  of  the  new  Territory 
to  be  taken.  This  census  resulted  in  showing  a  population  of  10,531  in  the 
counties  of  Dubuque  and  Des  Moines.  Under  the  apportionment,  these  two 
counties  were  entitled  to  six  members  of  the  Council  and  thirteen  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  The  Governor  issued  his  proclamation  for  an  election  to  be 
held  on  the  first  Monday  of  October,  1836,  on  which  day  the  following  members 
of  the  First  Territorial  Legislature  of  Wisconsin  were  elected  from  the  two 
counties  in  the  Black  Hawk  purchase  : 

Dubuque  County. — Council :  John  Fally.  Thomas  McKnight,  Thomas  Mc- 
Craney.  House:  Loring  Wheeler,  Hardin  Nowlan,  Peter  Hill  Engle,  Patrick 
Quigley,  Hosea  T.  Camp. 

Des  Moines  County. — Council:  Jeremiah  Smith,  Jr.,  Joseph  B.  Teas, 
Arthur  B.  Ingram.  House:  Isaac  Leffler,  Thomas  Blair,  Warren  L.  Jenkins, 
John  Box,  George  W.  Teas,  Eli  Reynolds,  David  R.  Chance. 

The  first  Legislature  assembled  at  Belmont,  in  the  present  State  of  Wiscon- 
sin, on  the  25th  day  of  October,  1836.  and  was  organized  by  electing  Henry  T. 
Baird  President  of  the  Council,  and  Peter  Hill  Engle,  of  Dubuque,  Speaker  of 
the  House.     It  adjourned  December  9,  1836. 

The  second  Legislature  assembled  at  Burlington,  November  10,  1837. 
Adjourned  January  20,  1838.  The  third  session  was  at  Burlington ;  com- 
menced June  1st,  and  adjourned  June  12,  1838. 

During  the  first  session  of  the  Wisconsin  Territorial  Legislature,  in  1836, 
the  county  of  Des  Moines  was  divided  into  Des  Moines,  Lee,  Van  Buren,  Henry, 
Muscatine  and  Cook  (the  latter  being  subsequently  changed  to  Scott)  and  defined 
their  boundaries.  During  the  second  session,  out  of  the  territory  embraced  in 
Dubuque  County,  were  created  the  counties  of  Dubuque,  Clayton,  Fayette, 
Delaware.  Buchanan,  Jackson,  Jones,  Linn,  Clinton  and  Cedar,  and  their  boun- 
daries defined,  but  the  most  of  them  were  not  organized  until  several  years 
afterward,  under  the  authority  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of  Iowa. 

The  question  of  a  separate  territorial  organization  for  Iowa,  which  was  then 
a  part  of  Wisconsin  Territory,  began  to  be  agitated  early  in  the  Autumn  of 
1837.  The  wishes  of  the  people  found  expression  in  a  convention  held  at  Bur- 
lington on  the  1st  of  November,  which  memorialized  Congress  to  organize  a 
Territory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  to  settle  the  boundary  line  between  Wis- 
consin Territory  and  Missouri.  The  Territorial  Legislature  of  Wisconsin,  then 
in  session  at  Burlington,  joined  in  the  petition.  Gen.  George  W.  Jones,  of 
Dubuque,  then  residing  at  Sinsinawa  Mound,  in  what  is  now  Wisconsin,  was 
Delegate  to  Congress  from  Wisconsin  Territory,  and  labored  so  earnestly  and 
successfully,  that  "  An  act  to  divide  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin,  and  to  estab- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  175 

lish  the  Territorial  Government  of  Iowa,"  was  approved  June  12,  1838,  to  take 
effect  and  be  in  force  on  and  after  July  3,  1838.  The  new  Territory  embraced 
"all  that  part  of  the  present  Territory  of  Wisconsin  which  lies  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River,  and  west  of  a  line  drawn  due  north  from  the  head  water  or 
sources  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  territorial  line."  The  organic  act  provided 
for  a  Governor,  whose  terra  of  office  should  be  three  years,  and  for  a  Secretary, 
Chief  Justice,  two  Associate  Justices,  and  Attorney  and  Marshal,  who  should 
serve  four  years,  to  be  appointed  by  the  President,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate.  The  act  also  provided  for  the  election,  by  the  white 
male  inhabitants,  citizens  of  the  United  States,  over  twenty-one  yeurs  of  ac^e, 
of  a  House  of  Representatives,  consisting  of  twenty-six  members,  and  a  Council' 
to  consist  of  thirteen  members.  It  also  appropriated  |5,000  for  a  public  library, 
and  120,000  for  the  erection  of  public  buildings. 

President  Van  Buren  appointed  Ex-Governor  Robert  Lucas,  of  Ohio,  to  be 
the  first  Governor  of  the  new  Territory.  William  B.  Conway,  of  Pittsburgh, 
was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Territory;  Charles  Mason,  of  Burlington^ 
Chief  Justice,  and  Thomas  S.  Wilson,  of  Dubuque,  and  Joseph  Williams,  of 
Pennsylvania,  Associate  Judges  of  the  Supreme  and  District  Courts;  Mr.  Var, 
Allen,  of  New  York,  Attorney;  Francis  Gehon,  of  Dubuque,  Marshal;  Au 
gustus  C.  Dodge,  Register  of  the  Land  Office  at  Burlington,  and  Thomas  Me- 
Knight,  Receiver  of  the  Land  Office  at  Dubuque.  Mr.  Van  Allen,  the  District 
Attorney,  died  at  Rockingham,  soon  after  his  appointment,  and  Col.  CharleM 
Weston  was  appointed  to  fill  his  vacancy.  Mr.  Conway,  the  Secretary,  also 
died  at  Burlington,  during  the  second  session  of  the  Legislature,  and  Jamen 
Clarke,  editor  of  the  Gazette,  was  appointed  to  succeed  him. 

Immediately  after  his  arrival,  Governor  Lucas  issued  a  proclamation  for  tho 
election  of  members  of  the  first  Territorial  Legislature,  to  be  held  on  the  lOtk 
of  September,  dividing  the  Territory  into  election  districts  for  that  purpose,  and 
appointing  the  12th  day  of  November  for  meeting  of  the  Legislature  to  bo 
elected,  at  Burlington. 

The  first  Territorial  Legislature  was  elected  in  September  and  assembled  al; 
Burlington  on  the  12th  of  November,  and  consisted  of  the  following  members : 

CoM7i(7z7.— Jesse  B.  Brown,  J.  Keith,  E.  A.  M.  Swazey,  Arthur  Ingram, 
Robert  Ralston,  George  Hepner,  Jesse  J.  Payne,  D.  B.  Hughes,  James  M- 
Clark,  Charles  Whittlesey,  Jonathan  W.  Parker,  Warner  Lewis,  Stephen 
Hempstead. 

Rouse. — William  Patterson,  Hawkins  Taylor,  Calvin  J.  Price,  James 
Brierly,  James  Hall,  Gideon  S.  Bailey,  Samuel  Parker,  James  W.  Grimes, 
George  Temple,  Van  B.  Delashmutt,  Thomas  Blair,  George  H.  Beeler,"' 
William  G.  Coop,  William  H.  Wallace,  Asbury  B.  Porter,  John  Frierson, 
William  L.  Toole,  Levi  Thornton,  S.  C.  Hastings,  Robert  G.  Roberts,  Laurel 
Summers,t  Jabez  A.  Burchard,  Jr.,  Chauncey  Swan,  Andrew  Bankson,  Thomas 
Cox  and  Hardin  Nowlin. 

Notwithstanding  a  large  majority  of  the  members  of  both  branches  of  the 
Legislature  were  Democrats,  yet  Gen.  Jesse  B.  Browne  (Whig),  of  Lee  County, 
was  elected  President  of  the  Council,  and  Hon.  William  H.  Wallace  (Whio-),  of 
Henry  County,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives — the  former  unani- 
mously and  the  latter  with  bu5  little  opposition.     At  that  time,  national  politics 

*  Cyrus  S.  Jacobs,  who  was  elected  for  Pes  Moines  County,  wa9  killed  in  an  unfortunate  encounter  at  Burlington 
before  the  meeting  of  the  Legishiture,  and  Mr.  Beeler  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

t  Samuel  R.  Murray  was  returned  us  elected  from  Cliutoa  County,  but  his  seat  was  successfullv  contested  bv 
xJurcLard.  ■' 


176  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

were  little  heeded  by  the  people  of  the  new  Territory,  but  in  1840,  during  the 
Presidential  campaign,  party  lines  were  strongly  drawn. 

At  the  election  in  September,  1838,  for  members  of  the  Legislature,  a  Con- 
gressional Delegate  was  also  elected.  There  were  four  candidates,  viz. :  William 
W.  Chapman  and  David  Rohrer,  of  Des  Moines  County ;  B.  F.  Wallace,  of 
Henry  County,  and  P.  H.  Engle,  of  Dubuque  County.  Chapman  was  elected, 
receiving  a  majority  of  thirty-six  over  Engle. 

The  first  session  of  the  Iowa  Territorial  Legislature  was  a  stormy  and  excit- 
ing one.  By  the  organic  law,  the  Qovernor  was  clothed  with  almost  unlimited 
veto  power.  Governor  Lucas  seemed  disposed  to  make  free  use  of  it,  and  the 
independent  Hawkeyes  could  not  quietly  submit  to  arbitrary  and  absolute  rule, 
and  the  result  was  an  unpleasant  controversy  between  the  Executive  and  Legis- 
lative departments.  Congress,  however,  by  act  approved  March  3,  1839, 
amended  the  organic  law  by  restricting  the  veto  power  of  the  Governor  to  the 
two-thirds  rule,  and  took  from  him  the  power  to  appoint  Sheriffs  and  Magistrates. 

Among  the  first  important  matters  demanding  attention  was  the  location  of 
the  seat  of  government  and  provision  for  the  erection  of  public  buildings,  for 
which  Congress  had  appropriated  f  20,000.  Governor  Lucas,  in  his  message, 
had  recommended  the  appointment  of  Commissioners,  witR  a  view  to  making  a 
central  location.  The  extent  of  the  future  State  of  Iowa  was  not  known  or 
thought  of.  Only  on  a  strip  of  land  fifty  miles  wide,  bordering  on  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  was  the  Indian  title  extinguished,  and  a  central  location  meant  some 
central  point  in  the  Black  Hawk  Purchase.  The  friends  of  a  central  location 
supported  the  Governor's  suggestion.  The  southern  members  were  divided 
between  Burlington  and  Mount  Pleasant,  but  finally  united  on  the  latter  as  the 
proper  location  for  the  seat  of  government.  The  central  and  southern  parties 
were  very  nearly  equal,  and,  in  consequence,  much  excitement  prevailed.  The 
central  party  at  last  triumphed,  and  on  the  21st  day  of  January,  1839,  an  act 
was  passed,  appointing  Chauncey  Swan,  of  Dubuque  County ;  John  Ronalds, 
of  Louisa  County,  and  Robert  Ralston,  of  Des  Moines  County,  Commissioners, 
to  select  a  site  for  a  permanent  seat  of  Government  within  the  limits  of  John- 
son County. 

Johnson  County  had  been  created  by  act  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of 
Wisconsin,  approved  December  21,  1837,  and  organized  by  act  passed  at  the 
special  session  at  Burlington  in  June,  1838,  the  organization  to  date  from  July 
4th,  following.  Napoleon,  on  the  Iowa  River,  a  few  miles  below  the  future 
Iowa  City,  was  designated  as  the  county  seat,  temporarily. 

Then  there  existed  good  reason  for  locating  the  capital  in  the  county.  The 
Territory  of  Iowa  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  British  Possessions  ;  east,  by 
the  Mississippi  River  to  its  source ;  thence  by  a  line  drawn  due  north  to  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  United  States;  south,  by  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  west, 
by  the  Missouri  and  White  Earth  Rivers.  But  this  immense  territory  was  in  un- 
disputed possession  of  the  Indians,  except  a  sti-ip  on  the  Mississippi,  known  as 
the  Black  Hawk  Purchase.  Johnson  County  was,  from  north  to  south,  in  the 
geographical  center  of  this  purchase,  and  as  near  the  east  and  west  geographical 
center  of  the  future  State  of  Iowa  as  could  then  be  made,  as  the  boundary  line 
between  the  lands  of  the  United  States  and  the  Indians,  established  by  the 
treaty  of  October  21,  1837,  was  immediately  west  of  the  county  limits. 

The  Commissioners,  after  selecting  the  site,  were  directed  to  lay  out  640 
acres  into  a  town,  to  be  called  Iowa  City,  and  to  proceed  to  sell  lots  and  erect 
public  buildings  thereon,  Congress  having  granted  a  section  of  land  to  be 
selected  by  the  Territory  for  this  purpose.     The  Commissioners  met  at  Napo- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  177 

leon,  Johnson  County,  May  1,  1839,  selected  for  a  site  Section  10,  in  Town- 
ship 79  North  of  Range  6  West  of  the  Fifth  Principal  Meridian,  and  immedi- 
ately surveyed  it  and  laid  off  the  town.  The  first  sale  of  lots  took  place  August 
16,  1839,  The  site  selected  for  the  public  buildings  was  a  little  west  of  the 
geographical  center  of  the  section,  where  a  square  of  ten  acres  on  the  elevated 
grounds  overlooking  the  river  was  reserved  for  the  purpose.  The  capitol  is 
located  in  the  center  of  this  square.  The  second  Territorial  Legislature,  which 
assembled  in  November,  1839,  passed  an  act  requiring  the  Commissioners  to 
adopt  such  plan  for  the  building  that  the  aggregate  cost  when  complete  should 
not  exceed  $51,000,  and  if  they  had  already  adopted  a  plan  involving  a  greater 
expenditure  they  were  directed  to  abandon  it.  Plans  for  the  building  were  designed 
and  drawn  by  Mr.  John  F.  Rague,  of  Springfield,  111.,  and  on  the  4th  day  of  July, 
1840,  the  corner  stone  of  the  edifice  was  laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies. 
Samuel  C.  Trowbridge  was  Marshal  of  the  day,  and  Gov.  Lucas  delivered  the 
address  on  that  occasion. 

When  the  Legislature  assembled  at  Burlington  in  special  session,  July  13, 
1840,  Gov.  Lucas  announced  that  on  the  4th  of  that  month  he  had  visited  Iowa 
City,  and  found  the  basement  of  the  capitol  nearly  completed.  A  bill  author- 
izing a  loan  of  $20,000  for  the  building  was  passed,  January  15,  1841,  the 
unsold  lots  of  Iowa  City  being,  the  security  offered,  but  only  $5,500  was 
obtained  under  the  act. 

THE  BOUNDARY  QUESTION. 

The  boundary  line  between  the  Territory  of  Iowa  and  the  State  of  Missouri 
was  a  difficult  question  to  settle  in  1838,  in  consequence  of  claims  arising  from 
taxes  and  titles,  and  at  one  time  civil  war  was  imminent.  In  defining  the 
boundaries  of  the  counties  bordering  on  Missouri,  the  Iowa  authorities  had  fixed 
a  line  that  has  since  been  established  as  the  boundary  between  Iowa  and  Mis- 
souri. The  Constitution  of  Missouri  defined  her  northern  boundary  to  be  the 
parallel  of  latitude  which  passes  through  the  rapids  of  the  Des  Moines  River. 
The  lower  rapids  of  the  Mississippi  immediately  above  the  mouth  of  the  Des 
Moines  River  had  always  been  known  as  the  Des  Moines  Rapids,  or  "the 
rapids  of  the  Des  Moines  River."  The  Missourians  (evidently  not  well  versed 
in  history  or  geography)  insisted  on  running  the  northern  boundary  line  from 
the  rapids  in  the  Des  Moines  River,  just  below  Keosauqua,  thus  taking  from 
Iowa  a  strip  of  territory  eight  or  ten  miles  wide.  Assuming  this  as  her 
northern  boundary  line,  Missouri  attempted  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  the 
disputed  territory  by  assessing  taxes,  and  sending  her  Sheriil's  to  collect  them  by 
distraining  the  personal  property  of  the  settlers.  The  lowans,  however,  were 
not  disposed  to  submit,  and  the  Missouri  officials  were  arrested  by  the  Sheriffs 
of  Davis  and  Van  Buren  Counties  and  confined  in  jail.  Gov.  Boggs,  of 
Missouri,  called  out  his  militia  to  enforce  the  claim  and  sustain  the  ofiicers  of 
Missouri.  Gov.  Lucas  called  out  the  militia  of  Iowa,  and  both  parties  made 
active  preparations  for  war.  In  Iowa,  about  1,200  men  were  enlisted,  and 
500  were  actually  armed  and  encamped  in  Van  Buren  County,  ready  to  defend 
the  integrity  of  the  Territory.  Subsequently,  Gen.  A.  C.  Dodge,  of  Burlington, 
Gen.  Churchman,  of  Dubuque,  and  Dr.  Clark,  of  Fort  Madison,  were  sent  to 
Missouri  as  envoys  plenipotentiary,  to  effect,  if  possible,  a  peaceable  adjustment 
of  the  difficulty.  Upon  their  arrival,  they  found  that  the  County  Commissioners 
of  Clarke  County ,  Missouri,  had  rescinded  their  order  for  the  collection  of  the  taxes, 
and  that  Gov.  Boggs  had  despatched  messengers  to  the  Governor  of  Iowa  proposing 


178  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

to  submit  an  agreed  case  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
final  settlement  of  the  boundary  question.  This  proposition  was  declined,  but 
afterward  Congress  authorized  a  suit  to  settle  the  controversy,  which  was  insti- 
tuted, and  which  resulted  in  a  judgment  for  Iowa.  Under  this  decision, 
William  G.  Miner,  of  Missouri,  and  Henry  B.  Hendershott  were  appointed 
Commissioners  to  survey  and  establish  the  boundary.  Mr.  Nourse  remarks 
that  "  the  expenses  of  the  war  on  the  part  of  Iowa  were  never  paid,  either  by 
the  United  States  or  the  Territorial  Government.  The  patriots  who  furnished 
supplies  to  the  troops  had  to  bear  the  cost  and  charges  of  the  struggle." 

The  first  legislative  assembly  laid  the  broad  foundation  of  civil  equality,  on 
which  has  been  constructed  one  of  the  most  liberal  governments  in  the  Union. 
Its  first  act  was  to  recognize  the  equality  of  woman  with  man  before  the  law  by 
providing  that  "  no  action  commenced  by  a  single  woman,  who  intermarries 
during  the  pendency  thereof,  shall  abate  on  account  of  such  marriage."  This  prin- 
ciple has  been  adopted  by  all  subsequent  legislation  in  Iowa,  and  to-day  woman 
has  full  and  equal  civil  rights  with  man,  except  only  the  right  of  the  ballot. 

Religious  toleration  was  also  secured  to  all,  personal  liberty  strictly  guarded, 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  citizenship  extended  to  all  white  persons,  and  the 
purity  of  elections  secured  by  heavy  penalties  against  bribery  and  corruption. 
The  judiciary  power  Avas  vested  in  a  Supreme  Court,  District  Court,  Probate 
Court,  and  Justices  of  the  Peace.  Real  estate  was  made  divisible  by  will,  and 
intestate  property  divided  equitably  among  heirs.  Murder  was  made  punishable 
by  death,  and  proportionate  penalties  fixed  for  lesser  crimes.  A  system  of  free 
schools,  open  for  every  class  of  white  citizens,  was  established.  Provision  was 
made  for  a  system  of  roads  and  highways.  Thus  under  the  territorial  organi- 
zation, the  country  began  to  emerge  from  a  savage  wilderness,  and  take  on  the 
forms  of  civil  government. 

By  act  of  Congress  of  June  12,  1838,  the  lands  which  had  been  purchased 
of  the  Indians  were  brought  into  market,  and  land  offices  opened  in  Dubuque 
and  Burlington.  Congress  provided  for  military  roads  and  bridges,  which 
greatly  aided  the  settlers,  who  were  now  coming  in  by  thousands,  to  make  their 
homes  on  the  fertile  prairies  of  Iowa — "  the  Beautiful  Land."  The  fame  of  the 
country  had  spread  far  and  wide;  even  before  the  Indian  title  was  extinguished, 
many  were  crowding  the  borders,  impatient  to  cross  over  and  stake  out  their 
claims  on  the  choicest  spots  they  could  find  in  the  new  Territory.  As 
soon  as  the  country  was  open  for  settlement,  the  borders,  the  Black  Hawk 
Purchase,  all  along  the  Mississipi,  and  up  the  principal  rivers  and  streams,  and 
out  over  the  broad  and  rolling  prairies,  began  to  be  thronged  Avith  eager  land 
hunters  and  immigrants,  seeking  homes  in  Iowa.  It  was  a  sight  to  delight  the 
eyes  of  all  comers  from  every  land — its  noble  streams,  beautiful  and  picturesque 
hills  and  valleys,  broad  and  fertile  prairies  extending  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  with  a  soil  surpassing  in  richness  anything  Avhich  they  had  ever  seen.  It 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  immigration  into  Iowa  Avas  rapid,  and  that  within 
less  than  a  decade  from  the  organization  of  the  Territory,  it  contained  a  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  people. 

As  rapidly  as  the  Indian  titles  were  extinguished  and  the  original  owners 
removed,  the  resistless  tide  of  emigration  floAved  Avestward.  The  folloAving  extract 
from  Judge  Nourse's  Centennial  Address  shoAVS  hoAV  the  immigrants  gathered 
on  the  Indian  boundary,  ready  for  the  removal  of  the  barrier : 

In  obedience  to  our  progressive  and  aggressive  spirit,  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
made  another  treaty  with  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  on  the  11th  day  of  August,  1842,  for  the 
remaining  portion  of  their  land  in  Iowa.     The  treaty  provided  that  the  Indians  should   retain 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  179 

possession  of  all  the  lands  thus  ceded  until  May  1,  1843,  and  should  occupy  that  portion  of  the 
ceded  territory  west  of  a  line  runnincr  north  and  south  through  Kedrock,  until  October  11,  1845. 
These  tribes,  at  this  time,  had  their  principal  village  at  Ot-tum-wa-no,  now  called  Ottumwa.  As 
soon  as  it  became  known  that  the  treaty  had  been  concluded,  there  was  a  rush  of  immigration  to 
Iowa,  and  a  great  number  of  temporary  settlements  were  made  near  the  Indian  boundary,  wait- 
ing for  the  1st  day  of  May.  As  the  day  approached,  hundreds  of  families  encamped  along  the 
line,  and  their  tents  and  wagons  gave  the  scene  the  appearance  of  a  military  expedition.  The 
country  beyond  had  been  thoroughly  explored,  but  the  United  States  military  authorities  had 
prevented  any  settlement  or  even  the  making  out  of  claims  by  any  monuments  whatever. 

To  aid  them  in  making  out  their  claims  when  the  hour  should  arrive,  the  settlers  had  placed 
piles  of  dry  wood  on  the  rising  ground,  at  convenient  distances,  and  a  short  time  before  twelve 
o'clock  of  the  night  of  the  30th  of  April,  these  were  lighted,  and  when  the  midnight  hour  arrived, 
it  was  announced  by  the  discharge  of  firearms.  The  night  was  dark,  but  this  army  of  occupa- 
tion pressed  forward,  torch  in  hand,  with  axe  and  hatchet,  blazing  lines  with  all  manner  of 
curves  and  angles.  When  daylight  came  and  revealed  the  confusion  of  these  wonderful  surveys, 
numerous  disputes  arose,  settled  generally  by  compromise,  but  sometimes  by  violence.  Between 
midnight  of  the  30th  of  April  and  sundown  of  the  1st  of  May,  over  one  thousand  families  had 
settled  on  their  new  purchase. 

While  this  scene  was  transpiring,  the  retreating  Indians  were  enacting  one  more  impressive 
and  melancholy.  The  Winter  of  1842-43  was  one  of  unusual  severity,  and  the  Indian  prophet, 
who  had  disapproved  of  the  treaty,  attributed  the  severity  of  the  Winter  to  the  anger  of  the  Great 
Spirit,  because  they  had  sold  their  country.  Many  religious  rites  were  performed  to  atone  for 
the  crime.  When  the  time  for  leaving  Ot-tum-wa-no  arrived,  a  solemn  silence  pervaded  the  Indian 
camp,  and  the  faces  of  their  stoutest  men  were  bathed  in  tears;  and  when  their  cavalcade  was 
put  in  motion,  toward  the  setting  sun,  there  was  a  spontaneous  outburst  of  frantic  grief  from  the 
entire  procession. 

The  Indians  remained  the  appointed  time  beyond  the  line  running  north  and  south  through 
Redrock.  The  government  established  a  trading  post  and  military  encampment  at  the  Raccoon 
Fork  of  the  Des  Moines  River,  then  and  for  many  years  known  as  Fort  Des  Moines.  Here  the 
red  man  lingered  until  the  11th  of  October,  1845,  when  the  same  scene  that  we  have  before 
described  was  re-enacted,  and  the  wave  of  immigration  swept  over  the  remainder  of  the  "  New 
Purchase."  The  lands  thus  occupied  and  claimed  by  the  settlers  still  belonged  in  fee  to  the  Gen- 
eral Government.  The  surveys  were  not  completed  until  some  time  after  the  Indian  title  was 
extinguished.  After  their  survey,  the  lands  were  publicly  proclaimed  or  advertised  for  sale  at 
public  auction.  Under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  a  pre-emption  or  exclusive  right  to  purchase 
public  lands  could  net  be  acquired  until  after  the  lands  had  thus  been  publicly  offered  and  not 
sold  for  want  of  bidders.  Then,  and  not  until  then,  an  occupant  making  improvements  in  good 
faith  might  acquire  a  right  over  othei's  to  enter  the  land  at  the  minimum  price  of  $1.25  per 
acre.  The  "  claim  laws  "  were  unknown  to  the  United  States  statutes.  They  originated  in  the 
"  eternal  fitness  of  things,"  and  were  enforced,  probably,  as  belonging  to  that  class  of  natural 
rights  not  enumerated  in  the  constitution,  and  not  impaired  or  disparaged  by  its  enumeration. 

The  settlers  organized  in  every  settlement  prior  to  the  public  land  sales,  appointed  officers, 
and  adopted  their  own  rules  and  regulations.  Each  man's  claim  was  duly  ascertained  and 
recorded  by  the  Secretary.  It  was  the  duty  of  all  to  attend  the  sales.  The  Secretary  bid  off  the 
lands  of  each  settler  at  $1.25  per  acre.  The  others  were  there,  to  see,  first,  that  he  did  his  duty 
and  bid  in  the  land,  and,  secondly,  to  see  that  no  one  else  bid.  This,  of  course,  sometimes  led  to 
trouble,  but  it  saved  the  excitement  of  competition,  and  gave  a  formality  and  degree  of  order 
and  regularity  to  the  proceedings  they  would  not  otherwise  have  attained.  As  far  as  practicable, 
the  Territorial  Legislature  recognized  the  validity  of  these  "  claims  "  upon  the  public  lands,  and 
in  1839  passed  an  act  legalizing  their  sale  and  making  their  transfer  a  valid  consideration  to  sup- 
port a  promise  to  pay  for  the  same.  (Acts  of  1843,  p.  456).  The  Supreme  Territorial  Court 
held  this  law  to  be  valid.  (See  Hill  v.  Smith,  1st  Morris  Rep.  70).  The  opinion  not  only  con- 
tains a  decision  of  the  question  involved,  but  also  contains  much  valuable  erudition  upon  that 
"  spirit  of  Anglo-Saxon  liberty"  which  the  Iowa  settlers  unquestionably  inherited  in  a  direct 
line  of  descent  from  the  said  "  Anglo-Saxons."  But  the  early  settler  was  not  always  able  to  pay 
even  this  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre  for  his  land. 

Many  of  the  settlers  had  nothing  to  begin  with,  save  their  hands,  health  and 
courage  and  their  family  jewels,  "  the  pledges  of  love,"  and  the  "  consumers  of 
bread."  It  was  not  so  easy  to  accumulate  money  in  the  early  days  of  the  State, 
and  the  "beautiful  prairies,"  the  '* noble  streams,"  and  all  that  sort  of  poetic 
imagery,  did  not  prevent  the  early  settlers  from  becoming  discouraged. 

An  old  settler,  in  speaking  of  the  privations  and  trials  of  those  early  days, 

says : 

Well  do  the  "old  settlers  ''  of  Iowa  remember  the  days  from  the  first  settlement  to  1840. 
Those  were  days  of  sadness  and  distress.     The  endearments  of  home  in  another  land  had  been 


180  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

broken  up ;  and  all  that  was  hallowed  on  earth,  the  home  of  childhood  and  the  scenes  of  youth, 
we  severed  ;  and  we  sat  down  by  the  gentle  waters  of  our  noble  river,  and  often  "  hung  our  harps 
on  the  willows." 

Another,  from  another  part  of  the  State,  testifies  : 

There  was  no  such  thing  as  getting  money  for  any  kind  of  labor.  I  laid  brick  at  $3.00 
per  thousand,  and  took  my  pay  in  anything  I  could  eat  or  wear.  I  built  the  first  Methodist 
Church  at  Keokuk,  42x60  feet,  of  brick,  for  $600,  and  took  my  pay  in  a  subscription  paper,  part 
of  which  I  never  collected,  and  upon  which  I  only  received  |50  00  in  money.  Wheat  was  hauled 
100  miles  from  the  interior,  and  sold  for  37  J  cents  per  bushel. 

Another  old  settler,  speaking  of  a  later  period,  1843,  says : 

Land  and  everything  had  gone  down  in  value  to  almost  nominal  prices.  Corn  and  oats 
could  be  bought  for  six  or  ten  cents  a  bushel ;  pork,  $1 .00  per  hundred  ;  and  the  best  hors%  a 
man  could  raise  sold  for  $50.00,  Nearly  all  were  in  debt,  and  the  Sheriff  and  Constable,  with 
legal  processes,  were  common  visitors  at  almost  every  man's  door.  These  were  indeed  "the  times 
that  tried  men's  souls." 

"A  few,"  says  Mr.  Nourse,  "who  were  not  equal  to  the  trial,  returned  to 
their  old  homes,  but  such  as  had  the  courage  and  faith  to  be  the  worthy  founders 
of  a  great  State  remained,  to  more  than  realize  the  fruition  of  their  hopes,  and 
the  reward  of  their  self-denial." 

On  Monday,  December  6,  1841,  the  fourth  Legislative  Assembly  met,  at 
the  new  capital,  Iowa  City,  but  the  capitol  building  could  not  be  used,  and  the 
Legislature  occupied  a  temporary  frame  house,  that  had  been  erected  for  that 
purpose,  during  the  session  of  1841-2.  At  this  session,  the  Superintendent  of 
Public  Buildings  (who,  with  the  Territorial  Agent,  had  superseded  the  Commis- 
sioners first  appointed),  estimated  the  expense  of  completing  the  building  at 
$33,330,  and  that  rooms  for  the  use  of  the  Legislature  could  be  completed  for 
115,600. 

During  1842,  the  Superintendent  commenced  obtaining  stone  from  a  new 
quarry,  about  ten  miles  northeast  of  the  city.  This  is  now  known  as  the  "  Old 
Capitol  Quarry,"  and  contains,  it  is  thought,  an  immense  quantity  of  excellent 
building  stone.  Here  all  the  stone  for  completing  the  building  was  obtained, 
and  it  was  so  far  completed,  that  on  the  5th  day  of  December,  1842,  the  Legis- 
lature assembled  in  the  new  capitol.  At  this  session,  the  Superintendent  esti- 
mated that  it  would  cost  $39,143  to  finish  the  building.  This  was  nearly 
$6,000  higher  than  the  estimate  of  the  previous  year,  notwithstanding  a  large 
sum  had  been  expended  in  the  meantime.  This  rather  discouraging  discrep- 
ancy was  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  officers  in  charge  of  the  work  were 
constantly  short  of  funds.  Except  the  congressional  appropriation  of  $20,000 
and  the  loan  of  $5,500,  obtained  from  the  Miners'  Bank,  of  Dubuque,  all  the 
funds  for  the  prosecution  of  the  work  were  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  city 
lots  (which  did  not  sell  very  rapidly),  from  certificates  of  indebtedness,  and  from 
scrip,  based  upon  unsold  lots,  which  was  to  be  received  in  payment  for  such  lots 
when  they  were  sold.  At  one  time,  the  Superintendent  made  a  requisition  for 
bills  of  iron  and  glass,  which  could  not  be  obtained  nearer  than  St.  Louis.  To 
meet  this,  the  Agent  sold  some  lots  for  a  draft,  payable  at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  for 
which  he  was  compelled  to  pay  twenty-five  per  cent,  exchange.  This  draft, 
amounting  to  $507,  that  officer  reported  to  be  more  than  one-half  the  cash 
actually  handled  by  him  during  the  entire  season,  when  the  disbursements 
amounted  to  very  nearly  $24,000. 

With  such  uncertainty,  it  could  not  be  expected  that  estimates  could  be  very 
accurate.  With  all  these  disadvantages,  however,  the  work  appears  to  have 
been  prudently  prosecuted,  and  as  rapidly  as  circumstances  would  permit. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  181 

Iowa  remained  a  Territory  from  1838  to  1846,  during  which  the  office  of 
Governor  was  held  by  Robert  Lucas,  John  Chambers  and  James  Clarke. 


STATE  ORGANIZATION. 

By  an  act  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of  Iowa,  approved  February  12, 

1844,  the  question  of  the  formation  of  a  State  Constitution  and  providing  for 
the  election  of  Delegates  to  a  convention  to  be  convened  for  that  purpose  was 
submitted  to  the  people,  to  be  voted  upon  at  their  township  elections  in  April 
following.  The  vote  was  largely  in  favor  of  the  measure,  and  the  Delegates 
elected  assembled  in  convention  at  Iowa  City,  on  the  7th  of  October,  1844. 
On  the  first  day  of  November  following,  the  convention  completed  its  work  and 
adopted  the  first  State  Constitution. 

The  President  of  the  convention,  Hon.  Shepherd  Leffler,  was  instructed  to 
transmit  a  certified  copy  of  this  Constitution  to  the  Delegate  in  Congress,  to  be 
by  him  submitted  to  that  body  at  the  earliest  practicable  day.  It  was  also  pro- 
vided that  it  should  be  submitted,  together  with  any  conditions  or  changes  that 
might  be  made  by  Congress,  to  the  people  of  the  Territory,  for  their  approval 
or  rejection,  at  the  township  election  in  April,  1845. 

The  boundaries  of  the  State,  as  defined  by  this  Constitution,  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

Beginning  in  the  middle  of  the  channel  of  the  Mississippi  River,  opposite  mouth  of  the 
Des  Moines  River,  thence  up  the  said  river  Des  Moines,  in  the  middle  of  the  main  channel 
thereof,  to  a  point  where  it  is  intersected  by  the  Old  Indian  Boundary  line,  or  line  run  by  John 
C.  Sullivan,  in  the  year  1816  ;  thence  westwardly  along  said  line  to  the  "  old  "  northwest  corner 
of  Missouri ;  thence  due  west  to  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  the  Missouri  River ;  thence 
up  in  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  the  river  last  mentioned  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sioux  or 
Calumet  River;  thence  in  a  direct  line  to  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  the  St.  Peters  River, 
where  the  Watonwan  River— according  to  Nicollet's  map — enters  the  same ;  thence  down  the 
middle  of  the  main  channel  of  said  river  to  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  the  Mississippi 
River ;  thence  down  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  said  river  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

These  boundaries  were  rejected  by  Congress,  but  by  act  approved  March  3,, 

1845,  a  State  called  Iowa  was  admitted  into  the  Union,  provided  the  people 
accepted  the  act,  bounded  as  follows : 

Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Des  Moines  River,  at  the  middle  of  the  Mississippi,  thence 
by  the  middle  of  the  channel  of  that  river  to  a  parallel  of  latitude  passing  through  the  mouth  of 
the  Mankato  or  Blue  Earth  River;  thence  west,  along  said  parallel  of  latitude,  to  a  point  where 
it  is  intersected  by  a  meridian  line  seventeen  degrees  and  thirty  minutes  west  of  the  meridian 
of  Washington  City  ;  thence  due  south,  to  the  northern  boundary  line  of  the  State  of  Missouri ; 
thence  eastwardly,  following  that  boundary  to  the  point  at  which  the  same  intersects  the  Des 
Moines  River  ;  thence  by  the  middle  of  the  channel  of  that  river  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

These  boundaries,  had  they  been  accepted,  would  have  placed  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  State  about  thirty  miles  north  of  its  present  location,  and  would 
have  deprived  it  of  the  Missouri  slope  and  the  boundary  of  that  river.  The 
western  boundary  would  have  been  near  the  west  line  of  what  is  now  Kossuth 
County.  But  it  was  not  so  to  be.  In  consequence  of  this  radical  and  unwel- 
come change  in  the  boundaries,  the  people  refused  to  accept  the  act  of  Congress 
and  rejected  the  Constitution  at  the  election,  held  August  4,  1845,  by  a  vote  of 
7,656  to  7,2-35. 

A  second  Constitutional  Convention  assembled  at  Iowa  City  on  the  4th  day 
of  May,  1846,  and  on  the  18th  of  the  same  month  another  Constitution  for  the 
new  State  with  the  present  boundaries,  was  adopted  and  submitted  to  the  people 
for  ratification  on  the  3d  day  of  August  following,  when  it  was  accepted  ;  9,492 
votes  were  cast  "for  the  Constitution,"  and  9,036   "against  the  Constitution  " 


182  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

The  Constitution  was  approved  by  Congress,  and  by  act  of  Congress  approved 
December  28,  1846,  Iowa  was  admitted  as  a  sovereign  State  in  the  American 
Union. 

Prior  to  this  action  of  Congress,  however,  the  people  of  the  new  State  held 
an  election  under  the  new  Constitution  on  the  26th  day  of  October,  and  elected 
Oresel  Briggs,  Governor  ;  Elisha  Cutler,  Jr.,  Secretary  of  State  ;  Joseph  T. 
Fales,  Auditor ;  Morgan  Reno,  Treasurer  ;  and  members  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives. 

At  this  time  there  were  twenty-seven  organized  counties  in  the  State,  with 
a  population  of  nearly  100,000,  and  the  frontier  settlements  were  rapidly  push- 
ing toward  the  Missouri  River.     The  Mormons  had  already  reached  there. 

The  first  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Iowa  was  composed  of  nineteen 
Senators  and  forty  Representatives.  It  assembled  at  Iowa  City,  November  30, 
1846,  about  a  month  before  the  State  was  admitted  into  the  Union. 

At  the  first  session  of  the  State  Legislature,  the  Treasurer  of  State  reported 
that  the  capitol  building  was  in  a  very  exposed  condition,  liable  to  injury  from 
storms,  and  expressed  the  hope  that  some  provision  would  be  made  to  complete 
it,  at  least  sufiiciently  to  protect  it  from  the  weather.  The  General  Assembly 
responded  by  appropriating  |2,500  for  the  completion  of  the  public  buildings. 
At  the  first  session  also  arose  the  question  of  the  re-location  of  the  capital.  The 
Western  boundary  of  the  State,  as  now  determined,  left  Iowa  City  too  far  toward 
the  eastern  and  southern  boundary  of  the  State ;  this  was  conceded.  Congress 
had  appropriated  five  sections  of  land  for  the  erection  of  public  buildings,  and 
toward  the  close  of  the  session  a  bill  was  introduced  providing  for  the  re-location 
of  the  seat  of  government,  involving  to  some  extent  the  location  of  the  State 
University,  which  had  already  been  discussed.  This  bill  gave  rise  to  a  deal  of 
discussion  and  parliamentary  maneuvering,  almost  purely  sectional  in  its  character. 
It  provided  for  the  appointment  of  three  Commissioners,  who  were  authorized  to 
make  a  location  as  near  the  geographical  center  of  the  State  as  a  healthy  and 
eligible  site  could  be  obtained ;  to  select  the  five  sections  of  land  donated  by 
Congress  ;  to  survey  and  plat  into  town  lots  not  exceeding  one  section  of  the 
land  so  selected ;  to  sell  lots  at  public  sale,  not  to  exceed  two  in  each  block. 
Having  done  this,  they  were  then  required  to  suspend  further  operations,  and 
make  a  report  of  their  proceedings  to  the  Governor.  The  bill  passed  both 
Houses  by  decisive  votes,  received  the  signature  of  the  Governor,  and  became  a 
law.  Soon  after,  by  "An  act  to  locate  and  establish  a  State  University," 
approved  February  25,  1847,  the  unfinished  public  buildings  at  Iowa  City, 
together  with  the  ten  acres  of  land  on  which  they  were  situated,  were  granted 
for  the  use  of  the  University,  reserving  their  use,  however,  by  the  General 
Assembly  and  the  State  ofiicers,  until  other  provisions  were  made  by  law. 

The  Commissioners  forthwith  entered  upon  their  duties,  and  selected  four 
sections  and  two  half  sections  in  Jasper  County.  Two  of  these  sections  are  in 
what  is  now  Des  Moines  Township,  and  the  others  in  Fairview  Township,  in  the 
southern  part  of  that  county.  These  lands  are  situated  between  Prairie  City 
and  Monroe,  on  the  Keokuk  &  Des  Moines  Railroad,  which  runs  diagonally 
through  them.  Here  a  town  was  platted,  called  Monroe  City,  and  a  sale  of 
lots  took  place.  Four  hundred  and  fifteen  lots  were  sold,  at  prices  that  were 
not  considered  remarkably  remunerative.  The  cash  payments  (one-fourth) 
amounted  to  $1,797.43,  while  the  expenses  of  the  sale  and  the  claims  of  the 
Commissioners  for  services  amounted  to  $2,206.57.  The  Commissioners  made 
a  report  of  their  proceedings  to  the  Governor,  as  required  by  law,  but  the  loca- 
tion was  generally  condemned. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  183 

When  the  report  of  the  Commissioners,  showing  this  brilliant  financial  ope- 
ration, had  been  read  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  at  the  next  session,  and 
while  it  was  under  consideration,  an  indignant  member,  afterward  known  as 
the  eccentric  Judge  McFarland,  moved  to  refer  the  report  to  a  select  Committee 
of  Five,  with  instructions  to  report  "  how  much  of  said  city  of  Monroe  was  under 
water  and  how  much  was  burned."  The  report  was  referred,  without  the 
instructions,  however,  but  Monroe  City  never  became  the  seat  of  government. 
By  an  act  approved  January  15,  1849,  the  law  by  which  the  location  had  been 
made  was  repealed  and  the  ncAV  town  was  vacated,  the  money  paid  by  purchas- 
ers of  lots  being  refunded  to  them.  This,  of  course,  retained  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment at  Iowa  City,  and  precluded,  for  the  time,  the  occupation  of  the  building 
and  grounds  by  the  University. 

At  the  same  session,  $3,000  more  were  appropriated  for  completing  the 
State  building  at  Iowa  City.  In  1852,  the  further  sum  of  $5,000,  and  in  1854 
$4,000  more  were  apppropriated  for  the  same  purpose,  making  the  whole  cost 
$123,000,  paid  partly  by  the  General  Government  and  partly  by  the  State,  but 
principally  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  lots  in  Iowa  City. 

But  the  question  of  the  permanent  location  of  the  seat  of  government  was 
not  settled,  and  in  1851  bills  were  introduced  for  the  removal  of  the  capital  to 
Bella  and  to  Fort  Des  Moines.  The  latter  appeared  to  have  the  support  of  the 
majority,  but  was  finally  lost  in  the  House  on  the  question  of  ordering  it  to  its 
third  reading. 

At  the  next  session,  in  1853,  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  for  the 
removal  of  the  seat  of  government  to  Fort  Des  Moines,  and,  on  final  vote, 
was  just  barely  defeated.  At  the  next  session,  however,  the  effort  was  more 
successful,  and  on  the  15th  day  of  January,  1855,  a  bill  re-locating  the  capital 
within  two  miles  of  the  Raccoon  Fork  of  the  Des  Moines,  and  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  Commissioners,  was  approved  by  Gov.  Grimes.  The  site  was  selected 
in  1856,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the  land  being  donated 
to  the  State  by  citizens  and  property -holders  of  Des  Moines.  An  association  of 
citizens  erected  a  building  for  a  temporary  capitol,  and  leased  it  to  the  State  at 
a  nominal  rent. 

The  third  Constitutional  Convention  to  revise  the  Constitution  of  the  State 
assembled  at  Iowa  City,  January  19,  1857.  The  new  Constitution  framed  by 
this  convention  was  submitted  to  the  people  at  an  election  held  August  3,  1857, 
when  it  was  approved  and  adopted  by  a  vote  of  40,311  "  for  "  to  38,681 
"  against,"  and  on  the  3d  day  of  September  following  was  declared  by  a  procla- 
mation of  the  Governor  to  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  State  of  Iowa. 

Advised  of  the  completion  of  the  temporary  State  House  at  Des  Moines,  on 
the  19th  of  October  following.  Governor  Grime.«^  issued  another  proclamation, 
declaring  the  City  of  Des  Moines  to  be  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Iowa. 

The  removal  of  the  archives  and  offices  was  commenced  at  once  and  con- 
tinued through  the  Fall.  It  was  an  undertaking  of  no  small  magnitude;  there 
was  not  a  mile  of  railroad  to  facilitate  the  work,  and  the  season  was  unusually 
disagreeable.  Rain,  snow  and  other  accompaniments  increased  the  difficulties ; 
and  it  was  not  until  December,  that  the  last  of  the  effects — the  safe  of  the  State 
Treasurer,  loaded  on  two  large  "  bob-sleds  " — drawn  by  ten  yoke  of  oxen  was  de- 
posited in  the  new  capital.  It  is  not  imprudent  now  to  remark  that,  during  this 
passage  over  hills  and  prairies,  across  rivers,  through  bottom  lands  and  timber, 
the  safes  belonging  to  the  several  departments  contained  large  sums  of  money, 
mostly  individual  funds,  however.  Thus,  Iowa  City  ceased  to  be  the  capital  of 
the  State,  after  four  Territorial   Legislatures,  six   State  Legislatures  and  three 


184  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

Constitutional  Conventions  had  held  their  sessions  there.  By  the  exchange, 
the  old  capitol  at  Iowa  City  became  the  seat  of  the  University,  and,  except  the 
rooms  occupied  by  the  United  States  District  Court,  passed  under  the  immedi- 
ate and  direct  control  of  the  Trustees  of  that  institution. 

Des  Moines  was  now  the  permanent  seat  of  government,  made  so  by  the 
fundamental  law  of  the  State,  and  on  the  11th  day  of  January,  1858,  the 
seventh  General  Assembly  convened  at  the  new  capital.  The  building  used 
for  governmental  purposes  was  purchased  in  1864.  It  soon  became  inadequate 
for  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  designed,  and  it  became  apparent  that  a  new, 
large  and  permanent  State  House  must  be  erected.  In  1870,  the  General 
Assembly  made  an  appropriation  and  provided  for  the  appointment  of  a  Board 
of  Commissioners  to  commence  the  work.  The  board  consisted  of  Gov.  Samuel 
Merrill,  ex  officio.  President ;  Grenville  M.  Dodge,  Council  Bluffs ;  James  F. 
Wilson,  Fairfield;  James  Dawson,  Washington;  Simon  G.  Stein,  Muscatine; 
.James  0.  Crosby,  Gainsville  ;  Charles  Dudley,  Agency  City  ;  John  N.  Dewey, 
Des  Moines ;  William  L.  Joy,  Sioux  City  ;  Alexander  R.  Fulton,  Des  Moines, 
Secretary. 

The  act  of  1870  provided  that  the  building  should  be  constructed  of  the 
best  material  and  should  be  fire  proof;  to  be  heated  and  ventilated  in  the  most 
approved  manner;  should  contain  suitable  legislative  halls,  rooms  for  State 
officers,  the  judiciary,  library,  committees,  archives  and  the  collections  of  the 
State  Agricultural  Society,  and  for  all  purpoees  of  State  Government,  and 
should  be  erected  on  grounds  held  by  the  State  for  that  purpose.  The  sum  first 
appropriated  was  $150,000  ;  and  the  law  provided  that  no  contract  should  be 
made,  either  for  constructing  or  furnishing  the  building,  which  should  bind  the 
State  for  larger  sums  than  those  at  the  time  appropriated.  A  design  was  drawn 
,and  plans  and  specifications  furnished  by  Cochrane  &  Piquenard,  architects, 
which  were  accepted  by  the  board,  and  on  the  23d  of  November,  1871,  the  cor- 
ner stone  was  laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  The  estimated  cost  and  present 
value  of  the  capitol  is  fixed  at  $2,000,000. 

From  1858  to  1860,  the  Sioux  became  troublesome  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  the  State.  These  warlike  Indians  made  frequent  plundering  raids  upon 
the  settlers,  and  murdered  several  families.  In  1861,  several  companies  of 
militia  were  ordered  to  that  portion  of  the  State  to  hunt  down  and  punish  the 
murderous  thieves.  No  battles  were  fought,  however,  for  the  Indians  fled 
when  they  ascertained  that  systematic  and  adequate  measures  had  been  adopted 
to  protect  the  settlers. 

"  The  year  1856  marked  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  Iowa.  In  1854,  the 
Chicago  &  Rock  Island  Railroad  had  been  completed  to  the  east  bank  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  opposite  Davenport.  In  1854,  the  corner  stone  of  a  railroad 
bridge,  that  was  to  be  the  first  to  span  the  "Father  of  Waters,"  was  laid  with 
appropriate  ceremonies  at  this  point.  St.  Louis  had  resolved  that  the  enter- 
prise was  unconstitutional,  and  by  writs  of  injunction  made  an  unsuccessful 
effort  to  prevent  its  completion.  Twenty  years  later  in  her  history,  St.  Louis 
repented  her  folly,  and  made  atonement  for  her  sin  by  imitating  our  example. 
On  the  1st  day  of  January,  1856,  this  railroad  Avas  completed  to  Iowa  City. 
In  the  meantime,  two  other  railroads  had  reached  the  east  bank  of  the  Missis- 
sippi— one  opposite  Burlington,  and  one  opposite  Dubuque — and  these  were 
being  extended  into  the  interior  of  the  State.  Indeed,  four  lines  of  railroad 
had  been  projected  across  the  State  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Missouri,  hav- 
ing eastern  connections.  On  the  15th  of  May,  1856,  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  passed  an  act  granting  to  the  State,  to  aid  in  the  construction  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 


185 


railroads,  the  public  lands  in  alternate  sections,  six  miles  on  either  side  of  the 
proposed  lines.  An  extra  session  of  the  General  Assembly  was  called  in  July 
of  this  year,  that  disposed  of  the  grant  to  the  several  companies  that  proposed 
to  complete  these  enterprises.  The  population  of  our  State  at  this  time  had 
increased  to  500,000.  Public  attention  had  been  called  to  the  necessity  of  a 
railroad  across  the  continent.  The  position  of  Iowa,  in  the  very  heart  and 
center  of  the  Republic,  on  the  route  of  this  great  highway  across  the  continent, 
began  to  attract  attention  Cities  and  towns  sprang  up  through  the  State  as 
if  by  magic.  Capital  began  to  pour  into  the  State,  and  had  it  been  employed 
in  developing  our  vast  coal  measures  and  establishing  manufactories  among  us, 
or  if  it  had  been  expended  in  improving  our  lands,  and  building  houses  and 
barns,  it  would  have  been  well.  But  all  were  in  haste  to  get  rich,  and  the 
spirit  of  speculation  ruled  the  hour. 

"  In  the  meantime,  every  effort  was  made  to  help  the  speedy  completion  of 
the  railroads.  Nearly  every  county  and  city  on  the  Mississippi,  and  many  in 
the  interior,  voted  large  corporate  subscriptions  to  the  stock  of  the  radroad 
companies,  and  issued  their  negotiable  bonds  for  the  amount."  Thus  enormous 
county  and  city  debts  were  incurred,  the  payment  of  Avhich  these  municipalities 
tried  to  avoid  upon  the  plea  that  they  had  exceeded  the  constitutional  limit- 
ation of  their  powers.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  held  these 
bonds  to  be  valid ;  and  the  courts  by  mandamus  compelled  the  city  and  county 
authorities  to  levy  taxes  to  pay  the  judgments.  These  debts  are  not  all  paid 
even  yet,  but  the  worst  is  over  and  ultimately  the  burden  will  be  entirely 
removed 

The  first  railroad  across  the  State  was  completed  to  Council  Bluffs  in  Jan- 
uary, 1871.  The  others  were  completed  soon  after.  In  1854,  there  was.  not 
a  mile  of  railroad  in  the  State.  In  1874,  twenty  years  after,  there  were  3,765 
miles  in  successful  operation. 

GROWTH    AND    PROGRESS. 

When  Wisconsin  Territory  was  organized,  in  1836,  the  entire  population  of 
that  portion  of  the  Territory  now  embraced  in  the  State  of  Iowa  was  10.531. 
The  Territory  then  embraced  two  counties,  Dubuque  and  Des  Moines,  erected 
by  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  in  1834.  From  1836  to  1838,  the  Territorial 
Legislature  of  Wisconsin  increased  the  number  of  counties  to  sixteen,  and  the 
population  had  increased  to  22,859.  Since  then,  the  counties  have  increased 
to  ninety-nine,  and  the  population,  in  1875,  was  1,366,000.  The  following 
table  will  show  the  population  at  different  periods  since  the  erection  of  Iowa 
Territory : 


Year.  Population. 

1838 22,589 

1840 43,115 

1844 75,152 

1846 97,588 

1847 116,651 

1849 152,988 

1850 191,982 

1851 204,774 


Tear.  Population. 

1852 23(7,713 

1854 326,013 

1856 519.055 

1859 638,775 

I860 674,913 

1863 701,732 

1865 754,699 


Year.  Population. 

1869 1,040,819 

1870 1,191,727 

1873 1,251,333 

1875 1,366,000 

1876 

1877 


1867 902,040 

The  most  populous  county  in  the  State  is  Dubuque.  Not  only  in  popula,- 
tion,  but  in  everything  contributing  to  the  growth  and  greatness  of  a  State  has 
Iowa  made  rapid  progress.  In  a  little  more  than  thirty  years,  its  wild  but 
beautiful  prairies  have  advanced  from  the  home  of  the  savage  to  a  highly  civ- 
ilized commonwealth,  embracing  all  the  elements  of  progress  which  characterize 
the  older  States. 


186  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

Thriving  cities  and  towns  dot  its  fair  surface ;  an  iron  net-work  of  thou- 
sands of  miles  of  railroads  is  woven  over  its  broad  acres ;  ten  thousand  school 
houses,  in  which  more  than  five  hundred  thousand  children  are  being  taught 
the  rudiments  of  education,  testify  to  the  culture  and  liberality  of  the  people; 
high  schools,  colleges  and  universities  are  generously  endowed  by  the  State ; 
manufactories  spring  up  on  all  her  water  courses,  and  in  most  of  her  cities 
and  towns. 

Whether  measured  from  the  date  of  her  first  settlement,  her  organization  as 
a  Territory  or  admission  as  a  State,  Iowa  has  thus  far  shown  a  growth  unsur- 
passed, in  a  similar  period,  by  any  commonwealth  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ; 
and,  with  her  vast  extent  of  fertile  soil,  with  her  inexhaustible  treasures  of 
mineral  wealth,  with  a  healthful,  invigorating  climate ;  an  intelligent,  liberty- 
loving  people;  with  equal,  just  and  liberal  laws,  and  her  free  schools,  the 
future  of  Iowa  may  be  expected  to  surpass  the  most  hopeful  anticipations  of  her 
present  citizens. 

Looking  upon  Iowa  as  she  is  to-day — populous,  prosperous  and  happy — it 
is  hard  to  realize  the  wonderful  changes  that  have  occurred  since  the  first  white 
settlements  were  made  within  her  borders.  When  the  number  of  States  was 
only  twenty-six,  and  their  total  population  about  twenty  millions,  our  repub- 
lican form  of  government  was  hardly  more  than  an  experiment,  just  fiiirly  put 
upon  trial.  The  development  of  our  agricultural  resources  and  inexhaustible 
mineral  wealth  had  hardly  commenced.  Westward  the  "  Star  of  Empire  " 
had  scarcely  started  on  its  way.  West  of  the  great  Mississippi  was  a  mighty 
empire,  but  almost  unknown,  and  marked  on  the  maps  of  the  period  as  "  The 
Great  American  Desert." 

Now,  thirty-eight  stars  glitter  on  our  national  escutcheon,  and  forty-five 
millions  of  people,  who  know  their  rights  and  dare  maintain  them,  tread 
American  soil,  and  the  grand  sisterhood  of  States  extends  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  to  the  Canadian  border,  and  from  the  rocky  coast  of  the  Atlantic  to 
the  golden  shores  of  the  Pacific. 


THE  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE  AND  FARM. 

Ames,  Story  County. 

The  Iowa,  State  Agricultural  College  and  Farm  were  established  by  au  act 
of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  March  22,  1858.  A  Board  of  Trustees  was 
appointed,  consisting  of  Governor  R.  P.  Lowe,  John  D.  Wright,  William  Duane 
Wilson,  M.  W.  Robinson,  Timothy  Day,  Richard  Gaines,  John  Pattee,  G.  W. 
F.  Sherwin,  Suel  Foster,  S.  W.  Henderson,  Clement  Cofiin  and  E.  G.  Day  ; 
the  Governors  of  the  State  and  President  of  the  College  being  ex  officio  mem- 
bers. Subsequently  the  number  of  Trustees  was  reduced  to  five.  The  Board 
met  in  June,  1859,  and  received  propositions  for  the  location  of  the  College  and 
Farm  from  Hardin,  Polk,  Story  and  Boone,  Marshall,  Jeft'erson  and  Tama 
Counties.  In  July,  the  proposition  of  Story  County  and  some  of  its  citizens 
and  by  the  citizens  of  Boone  County  was  accepted,  and  the  farm  and  the  site 
for  the  buildings  were  located.  In  1860-61,  the  farm-house  and  barn  were 
erected.  In  1862,  Congress  granted  to  the  State  240,000  acres  of  land  for  the 
endowment  of  schools  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanical  arts,  and  195,000  acres 
were  located  by  Peter  Melendy,  Commissioner,  in  1862-3.  George  W.  Bassett 
was  appointed  Land  Agent  for  the  institution.  In  1864,  the  General  Assem- 
bly appropriated  $20,000  for  the  erection  of  the  college  building. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  18T 

In  June  of  that  year,  the  Building  Committee,  consisting  of  Suel  Foster, 
Peter  Melendy  and  A.  J.  Bronson,  proceeded  to  let  the  contract.  John  Browne, 
of  Des  Moines,  was  employed  as  architect,  and  furnished  the  plans  of  the  build- 
ing, but  was  superseded  in  its  construction  by  C.  A.  Dunham.  The  $20,000 
appropriated  by  the  General  Assembly  were  expended  in  putting  in  the  foun- 
dations and  making  the  brick  for  the  structure.  An  additional  appropriation 
of  $91,000  was  made  in  1866,  and  the  building  was  completed  in  1868. 

Tuition  m  this  college  is  made  by  law  forever  free  to  pupils  from  the  State 
over  sixteen  years  of  age,  who  have  been  resident  of  the  State  six  months  pre- 
vious to  their  admission.  Each  county  in  the  State  has  a  prior  right  of  tuition 
for  three  scholars  from  each  county ;  the  remainder,  equal  to  the  capacity  of  the 
college,  are  by  the  Trustees  distributed  among  the  counties  in  proportion  to  the 
population,  and  subject  to  the  above  rule.  All  sale  of  ardent  spirits,  wine  or 
beer  are  prohibited  by  law  within  a  distance  of  three  miles  from  the  college, 
except  for  sacramental,  mechanical  or  medical  purposes. 

The  course  of  instruction  in  the  Agricultural  College  embraces  the  following 
branches:  Natural  Philosophy,  Chemistry, Botany,  Horticulture,  Fruit  Growing, 
Forestry,  Animal  and  Vegetable  Anatomy,  Geology,  Mineralogy,  Meteorology, 
Entomology,  Zoology,  the  Veterinary  Art,  Plane  Mensuration,  Leveling,  Sur- 
veying, Bookkeeping,  and  such  Mechanical  Arts  as  are  directly  connected 
with  agriculture  ;  also  such  other  studies  as  the  Trustees  may  from  time  to  time 
prescribe,  not  inconsistent  with  the  purposes  of  the  institution. 

The  funds  arising  from  the  lease  and  sale  of  lands  and  interest  on  invest- 
ments are  sufficient  for  the  support  of  the  institution.  Several  College  Societies 
are  maintained  among  the  students,  who  publish  a  monthly  paper.  There  is 
also  an  "  out-law  "  called  the  "  ATA^  Chapter  Omega." 

The  Board  of  Trustees  in  1877  was  composed  of  C.  W.  Warden,  Ottumwa, 
Chairman  ;  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  Iowa  City ;  William  B.  Treadway, 
Sioux  City ;  Buel  Sherman,  Fredericksburg,  and  Laurel  Summers,  Le  Claire. 
E.  W.  Starten,  Secretary  ;  William  D.  Lucas,  Treasurer. 

Board  of  Instruction. — A.  S.  Welch,  LL.  D.,  President  and  Professor  of 
Psychology  and  Philosophy  of  Science  ;  Gen.  J.  L.  Geddes,  Professor  of  jNlili- 
tary  Tactics  and  Engineering;  W.  H.  Wynn,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  of 
English  Literature;  C.  E.  Bessey,  M.  S.,  Professor  of  Botany,  Zoology,  Ento- 
mology ;  A.  Thompson,  G.  E.,  Mechanical  Engineering  and  Superintendent  of 
Workshops;  F.  E.  L.  Beal,  B.  S.,  Civil  Engineering;  T.  E.  Pope,  A.  M., 
Chemistry;  M.  Stalker,  Agricultural  and  Veterinary  Science;  J.  L.  Budd, 
Horticulture ;  J.  K.  Macomber,  Physics ;  E.  W.  Stanton,  Mathematics  and 
Political  Economy ;  Mrs.  Margaret  P.  Stanton,  Preceptress,  Instructor  in 
French  and  Mathematics. 

THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY. 

Iowa  City,  Johnson  County. 

In  the  famous  Ordinance  of  1787,  enacted  by  Congress  before  the  Territory 
of  the  United  States  extended  beyond  the  Mississippi  River,  it  was  declared 
that  in  all  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River,  "  Schools  and  the  means 
of  education  shall  forever  be  encouraged."  By  act  of  Congress,  approved  July 
20,  1840,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  authorized  "to  set  apart  and  re- 
serve from  sale,  out  of  any  of  the  public  lands  within  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  to 
which  the  Indian  title  has  been  or  may  be  extinguished,  and  not  otherwise  ap- 
propriated, a  quantity  of  land,  not  exceeding  the  entire  townships,  for  the  use 


188  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

and  support  of  a  university  within  said  Territorry  when  it  becomes  a  State,  and 
for  no  other  use  or  purpose  whatever ;  to  be  located  in  tracts  of  not  less  than  an 
entire  section,  corresponding  with  any  of  the  large  divisions  into  which  the  pub- 
lic land  are  authorized  to  be  surveyed." 

William  W.  Dodge,  of  Scott  County,  was  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  to  make  the  selections.  He  selected  Section  5  in  Township  78,  north 
■of  Range  3,  east  of  the  Fifth  Principal  Meridian,  and  then  removed  from  the 
Territory.  No  more  lands  were  selected  until  1846,  when,  at  the  request  of  the 
Assembly,  John  M.  Whitaker  of  Van  Buren  County,  was  appointed,  who  selected 
the  remainder  of  the  grant  except  about  122  acres. 

In  the  first  Constitution,  under  which  Iowa  was  admitted  to  the  Union,  the 
people  directed  the  disposition  of  the  proceeds  of  this  munificent  grant  in  ac- 
cordance with  its  terms,  and  instructed  the  General  Assembly  to  provide,  as  soon 
as  may  be,  effectual  means  for  the  improvement  and  permanent  security  of  the 
funds  of  the  university  derived  from  the  lands. 

The  first  General  Assembly,  by  act  approved  February  25, 1847,  established 
the  "  State  University  of  Iowa  "  at  Iowa  City,  then  the  capital  of  the  State, 
"with  such  other  branches  as  public  convenience  may  hereafter  require." 
The  "  public  buildings  at  Iowa  City,  together  with  the  ten  acres  of  land  in  which 
they  are  situated,"  were  granted  for  the  use  of  said  university,  -provided,  how- 
ever, that  the  sessions  of  the  Legislature  and  State  offices  should  be  held  in  the 
■capitol  until  otherwise  provided  by  law.  The  control  and  management  of  the 
University  w^ere  committed  to  a  board  of  fifteen  Trustees,  to  be  appointed  by  the 
Legislature,  five  of  whom  were  to  be  chosen  bienially.  The  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction  was  made  President  of  this  Board.  Provisions  were  made 
for  the  disposal  of  the  two  townships  of  land,  and  for  the  investment  of  the  funds 
arising  therefrom.  The  act  further  provides  that  the  University  shall  never  be 
under  the  exclusive  control  of  any  religious  denomination  whatever,"  and  as 
soon  as  the  revenue  for  the  grant  and  donations  amounts  to  $2,000  a  year,  the 
University  should  commence  and  continue  the  instruction,  free  of  charge,  of  fifty 
students  annually.  The  General  Assembly  retained  full  supervision  over  the 
University,  its  officers  and  the  grants  and  donations  made  and  to  be  made  to  it 
by  the  State. 

Section  5  of  the  act  appointed  James  P.  Carleton,  H.  D.  Downey,  Thomas 
Snyder,  Samuel  McCrory,  Curtis  Bates,  Silas  Foster,  E.  C.  Lyon,  James  H. 
Gower,  George  G.  Vincent,  Wm.  G.  Woodward, 'Theodore  S.  Parvin,  George 
Atchinson,  S.  G.  Matson,  H.  W.  Starr  and  Ansel  Briggs,  the  first  Board  of 
Trustees. 

The  organization  of  the  University  at  Iowa  City  was  impracticable,  how- 
ever, so  long  as  the  seat  of  government  was  retained  there. 

In  January,  1849,  two  branches  of  the  University  and  three  Normal 
Schools  were  established.  The  branches  were  located — one  at  Fairfield,  and 
the  other  at  Dubuque,  and  were  placed  upon  an  equal  footing,  in  respect  to 
funds  and  all  other  matters,  with  the  University  established  at  Iowa  City. 
"This  act,"  says  Col.  Benton,  "created  three  State  Universities,  with  equal 
fights  and  powers,  instead  of  a  'University  with  such  branches  as  public  conven- 
ience may  hereafter  demand,'  as  provided  by  the  Constitution." 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Fairfield  Branch  consisted  of  Barnet  Ris- 
tine,  Christian  W.  Slagle,  Daniel  Rider,  Horace  Gaylord,  Bernhart  Henn  and 
Samuel  S.  Bayard.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board,  Mr.  Henn  was  elected 
President,  Mr.  Slagle  Secretary,  and  Mr.  Gaylord  Treasurer.  Twenty  acres 
of  land   were   purchased,   and    a   building  erected   thereon,   costing   $2,500. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  189 

This  building  was  nearly  destroyed  by  a  hurricane,  in  1850,  but  was  rebuilt 
more  substantially,  all  by  contributions  of  the  citizens  of  Fairfield.  This 
branch  never  received  any  aid  from  the  State  or  from  the  University  Fund, 
and  by  act  approved  January  24,  1853,  at  the  request  of  the  Board,  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  terminated  its  relation  to  the  State. 

The  branch  at  Dubuque  was  placed  under  the  control  of  the  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction,  and  John  King,  Caleb  H.  Booth,  James  M.  Emerson, 
Michael  J.  Sullivan,  Richard  Benson  and  the  Governor  of  the  State  as 
Trustees.      The  Trustees  never  organized,  and  its  existence  was  only  nominal. 

The  Normal  Schools  were  located  at  Andrew,  Oskaloosa  and  Mount 
Pleasant,  respectively.  Each  was  to  be  governed  by  a  board  of  seven  Trustees,  to 
be  appointed  by  the  Trustees  of  the  University.  Each  was  to  receive  $500  annu- 
ally from  the  income  of  the  University  Fund,  upon  condition  that  they  should  ed- 
ucate eight  common  school  teachers,  free  of  charge  for  tuition,  and  that  the  citizens 
should  contribute  an  equal  sum  for  the  erection  of  the  requisite  buildings. 
The  several  Boards  of  Trustees  were  appointed.  At  Andrew,  the  school  was 
organized  Nov.  21,  1849;  Samuel  Ray,  Principal;  Miss  J.  S.  Dorr,  Assist- 
ant. A  building  was  commenced  and  over  $1,000  expended  on  it,  but  it  was 
never  completed.  At  Oskaloosa,  the  Trustees  organized  in  April,  1852.  This 
school  was  opened  in  the  Court  House,  September  13,  1852,  under  the  charge 
of  Prof.  G.  M.  Drake  and  wife.  A  two  story  brick  building  was  completed  in 
1853,  costing  $2,473.  The  school  at  Mount  Pleasant  was  never  organized. 
Neither  of  these  schools  received  any  aid  from  the  University  Fund,  but  in 
1857  the  Legislature  appropriated  $1,000  each  for  those  at  Oskaloosa  and 
Andrew,  and  repealed  the  law  authorizing  the  payment  of  money  to  them  from 
the  University  Fund.  From  that  time  they  made  no  further  effort  to 
continue  in  operation. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  held  February  21,  1850, 
the  "  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,"  established 
at  Davenport,  was  recognized  as  the  "  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of 
the  State  University  of  Iowa,"  expressly  stipulating,  however,  that  such  recog- 
nition should  not  render  the  University  liable  for  any  pecuniary  aid,  nor  was 
the  Board  to  have  any  control  over  the  property  or  management  of  the  Medical 
Association.  Soon  after,  this  College  was  removed  to  Keokuk,  its  second  ses- 
sion being  opened  there  in  November,  1850.  In  1851,  the  General  Assembly 
confirmed  the  action  of  the  Board,  and  by  act  approved  January  22,  1855, 
placed  the  Medical  College  under  the  supervision  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  University,  and  it  continued  in  operation  until  this  arrangement  was  termi- 
nated by  the  new  Constitution,  September  3,  1857. 

From  1847  to  1855,  the  Board  of  Trustees  was  kept  full  by  regular  elec- 
tions by  the  Legislature,  and  the  Trustees  held  frequent  meetings,  but  there  was 
no  effectual  organization  of  the  University.  In  March,  1855,  it  was  partially 
opened  for  a  term  of  sixteen  weeks.  July  16,  1855,  Amos  Dean,  of  Albany, 
N.  Y,,  Avas  elected  President,  but  he  never  entered  fully  upon  its  duties.  The 
University  was  again  opened  in  September,  1855,  and  continued  in  operation 
until  June,  1856,  under  Professors  Johnson,  Welton,  Van  Valkenburg  and 
Guffin. 

In  the  Spring  of  1856,  the  capital  of  the  State  was  located  at  Des  Moines; 
but  there  were  no  buildings  there,  and  the  capitol  at  Iowa  City  was  not  vacated 
by  the  State  until  December,  1857. 

In  June,  1856,  the  faculty  was  re-organized,  with  some  changes,  and  the 
University  was  again  opened  on  the  third  Wednesday  of  September,  1856. 


190  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  lOAVA. 

There  were  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  students — eighty-three  males  and 
forty-one  females — in  attendance  during  the  year  1856-7,  and  the  first  regular 
catalogue  was  published. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board,  September  22,  1857,  the  honorary  de- 
gree of  Bachelor  of  Arts  was  conferred  on  D.  Franklin  Wells.  This  was  the 
first  degree  conferred  by  the  Board. 

Article  IX,  Section  11,  of  the  new  State  Constitution,  which  went  into  force 
September  3,  1857,  provided  as  follows  : 

The  State  TJniversity  shall  be  established  at  one  place,  without  branches  at  any  other  place  ; 
and  the  University  fund  shall  be  applied  to  that  institution,  and  no  other. 

Article  XI,  Section  8,  provided  that 

The  seat  of  Government  is  hereby  permanently  established,  as  now  fixed  by  law,  at  the  city 
of  Des  Moines,  in  the  county  of  Polk  ;  and  the  State  University  at  Iowa  City,  in  the  county  of 
Johnson. 

The  new  Constitution  created  the  Board  of  Education,  consisting  of  the 
Lieutenant  Governor,  who  was  ex  officio  President,  and  one  member  to  be  elected 
from  each  judicial  district  in  the  State.  This  Board  was  endowed  with 
"  full  power  and  authority  to  legislate  and  make  all  needful  rules  and  regula- 
tions in  relation  to  common  schools  and  other  educational  institutions,"  subject 
to  alteration,  amendment  or  repeal  by  the  General  Assembly,  which  was  vested 
with  authority  to  abolish  or  re-organize  the  Board  at  any  time  after  1863. 

In  December,  1857,  the  old  capitol  building,  now  known  as  Central  Hall  of 
the  University,  except  the  rooms  occupied  by  the  United  States  District  Court, 
and  the  property,  with  that  exception,  passed  under  the  control  of  the  Trustees,. 
and  became  the  seat  of  the  University.  The  old  building  had  had  hard  usage, 
and  its  arrangement  was  illy  adapted  for  University  purposes.  Extensive  i-epairs 
and  changes  were  necessary,  but  the  Board  was  without  funds  for  these  pur- 
poses. 

The  last  meeting  of  the  Board,  under  the  old  law,  was  held  in  January, 
1858.  At  this  meeting,  a  resolution  was  introduced,  and  seriously  considered, 
to  exclude  females  from  the  University ;  but  it  finally  failed. 

March  12,  1858,  the  first  Legislature  under  the  new  Constitution  enacted 
a  new  law  in  relation  to  the  University,  but  it  was  not  materially  different  from 
the  former.  March  11,  1858,  the  Legislature  appropriated  $3,000  for  the  re- 
pair and  modification  of  the  old  capitol  building,  and  $10,000  for  the  erection 
of  a  boarding  house,  now  knoAvn  as  South  Hall. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  created  by  the  new  law  met  and  duly  organized 
April  27, 1858,  and  determined  to  close  the  University  until  the  income  from  its- 
fund  should  be  adequate  to  meet  the  current  expenses,  and  the  buildings  should 
be  ready  for  occupation.  Until  this  term,  the  building  known  as  the  "  Mechan- 
ics' Academy"  had  been  used  for  the  school.  The  Faculty,  except  the  Chan- 
cellor (Dean),  was  dismissed,  and  all  farther  instruction  suspended,  from  the  close 
of  the  term  then  in  progress  until  September,  1859.  At  this  meeting,  a  reso- 
lution was  adopted  excluding  females  from  the  University  after  the  close  of  the 
existing  term  ;  but  this  was  afterward,  in  August,  modified,  so  as  to  admit  them 
to  the  Normal  Department. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board,  August  4,  1858,  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Science  was  conferred  upon  Dexter  Edson  Smith,  being  the  first  degree  con- 
ferred upon  a  student  of  the  University.  Diplomas  were  awarded  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  first  graduating  class  of  the  Normal  Department  as  follows  :  Levi 
P.  Aylworth,  Cellina  H.  Aylworth,  Elizabeth  L.  Humphrey,  Annie  A.  Pinney 
and  Sylvia  M.  Thompson. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  191 

An  "Act  for  the  Government  and  Regulation  of  the  State  University  of 
Iowa,"  approved  December  25,  1858,  was  mainly  a  re-enactment  of  the  law  of 
March  12,  1858,  except  that  changes  were  made  in  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and 
manner  of  their  appointment.  This  law  provided  that  both  sexes  were  to  be 
admitted  on  equal  terms  to  all  departments  of  the  institution,  leaving  the  Board 
no  discretion  in  the  matter. 

The  new  Board  met  and  organized,  February  2,  1859,  and  decided  to  con- 
tinue the  Normal  Department  only  to  the  end  of  the  current  term,  and  that  it 
was  unwise  to  re-open  the  University  at  that  time ;  but  at  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  Board,  in  June  of  the  same  year,  it  was  resolved  to  continue  the  Normal 
Department  in  operation ;  and  at  a  special  meetmg,  October  25,  1859,  it  was 
decided  to  re-open  the  University  in  September,  1860.  Mr.  Dean  had  resigned 
as  Chancellor  prior  to  this  meeting,  and  Silas  Totten,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  was  elected 
President,  at  a  salary  of  $2,000,  and  his  term  commenced  June,  1860. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  June  28,  1860,  a  full  Faculty  was  appointed,  and 
the  University  re-opened,  under  this  new  organization,  September  19,  1860 
(third  Wednesday) ;  and  at  this  date  the  actual  existence  of  the  University  may 
be  said  to  commence. 

August  19,  1862,  Dr.  Totten  having  resigned,  Prof  Oliver  M.  Spencer 
was  elected  President  and  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  was  conferred 
upon  Judge  Samuel  F.  Miller,  of  Keokuk. 

At  the  commencement,  in  June,  1863,  was  the  first  class  of  graduates  in 
the  Collegiate  Department. 

The  Board  of  Education  was  abolished  March  19,  1864,  and  the  office  of 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction*  was  restored ;  the  General  Assembly 
resumed  control  of  the  subject  of  education,  and  on  March  21,  an  act  was  ap- 
proved for  the  government  of  the  University.  It  was  substantially  the  same  as 
the  former  law,  but  provided  that  the  Governor  should  be  ex  officio  President  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees.  Until  1858,  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
had  been  ex  officio  President.  During  the  period  of  the  Board  of  Education, 
the  University  Trustees  were  elected  by  it,  and  elected  their  own  President. 

President  Spencer  was  granted  leave  of  absence  from  April  10,  1866,  for 
fifteen  months,  to  visit  Europe;  and  Prof.  Nathan  B.  Leonard  was  elected 
President  ji??*o  tern. 

The  North  Hall  was  completed  late  in  1866. 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  June,  1867,  the  resignation  of  President  Spencer 
(absent  in  Europe)  was  accepted,  and  Prof.  Leonard  continued  as  President  ^jro 
tern.,  until  March  4,  1868,  when  James  Black,  D.  D.,  Vice  President  of  Wash- 
ington and  Jefferson  College,  Penn.,  was  elected  President.  Dr.  Black  entered 
upon  his  duties  in  September,  1868. 

The  Law  Department  was  established  in  June,  1868,  and,  in  September  fol- 
lowing, an  arrangement  was  perfected  with  the  Iowa  Law  School,  at  Des  Moines, 
which  had  been  in  successful  operation  for  three  years,  under  the  management 
of  Messrs.  George  G.  Wright,  Chester  C.  Cole  and  William  G.  Hammond,  by 
which  that  institution  was  transferred  to  Iowa  City  and  merged  in  the  Law  De- 
partment of  the  University.  The  Faculty  of  this  department  consisted  of  the 
President  of  the  University,  Hon.  Wm.  G.  Hammond,  Resident  Professor  and 
Principal  of  the  Department,  and  Professors  G.  G.  Wright  and  C.  C.  Cole. 

Nine  students  entered  at  the  commencement  of  the  first  term,  and  during 
the  year  ending  June,  1877,  there  were  103  students  in  this  department. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board,  on  the  17th  of  September,  1868,  a  Com- 
mittee Avas  appointed  to  consider  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  Medical  De- 


192  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

partment.  This  Committee  reported  at  once  in  favor  of  the  proposition,  the 
Faculty  to  consist  of  the  President  of  the  University  and  seven  Professors,  and 
recommended  that,  if  practicable,  the  new  department  should  be  opened  at  the 
commencement  of  the  University  year,  in  1869-70.  At  this  meeting,  Hon. 
Ezekiel  Clark  was  elected  Treasurer  of  the  University. 

By  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  April  11,  1870,  the  "Board 
of  Regents  "  was  instituted  as  the  governing  power  of  the  University,  and  since 
that  time  it  has  been  the  fundamental  law  of  the  institution.  The  Board  of 
Regents  held  its  first  meeting  June  28,  1870.  Wm.  J.  Haddock  was  elected 
Secretary,  and  Mr.  Clark,  Treasurer. 

Dr.  Black  tendered  his  resignation  as  President,  at  a  special  meeting  of  the 
Board,  held  August  18,  1870,  to  take  eflfect  on  the  1st  of  December  following. 
His  resignation  was  accepted. 

The  South  Hall  having  been  fitted  up  for  the  purpose,  the  first  term  of  the 
Medical  Department  was  opened  October  24,  1870,  and  continued  until  March, 
1871,  at  which  time  there  were  three  graduates  and  thirty-nine  students. 

March  1,  1871,  Rev.  George  Thacher  was  elected  President  of  the  Univer- 
sity. Mr.  Thacher  accepted,  entered  upon  his  duties  April  1st,  and  was  form- 
ally inaugurated  at  the  annual  meeting  in  June,  1861. 

In  June,  1874,  the  "  Chair  of  Military  Instruction"  was  established,  and 
the  President  of  the  United  States  was  requested  to  detail  an  officer  to  perform 
its  duties.  In  compliance  with  this  request,  Lieut.  A.  D.  Schenck,  Second  Artil- 
lery, U.  S.  A.,  Avas  detailed  as  "Professor  of  Military  Science  and  Tactics," 
at  Iowa  State  University,  by  order  of  the  War  Department,  August  26,  1874, 
who  reporte^  for  duty  on  the  10th  of  September  following.  Lieut.  Schenck 
was  relieved  by  Lieut.  James  Chester,  Third  Artillery,  January  1,  1877. 

Treasurer  Clark  resigned  November  3,  1875,  and  John  N.  Coldren  elected 
in  his  stead. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  in  1876,  a  Department  of  Homoeopathy  was 
established. 

In  March,  1877,  a  resolution  was  adopted  affiliating  the  High  Schools  of 
the  State  with  the  University. 

In  June,  1877,  Dr.  Thacher's  connection  with  the  University  was  termi- 
nated, and  C.  W.  Slagle,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  was  elected  Pres- 
ident. 

In  1*872,  the  ex  officio  membership  of  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion was  abolished  ;  but  it  was  restored  in  1876.  Following  is  a  catalogue  of 
the  officers  of  this  important  institution,  from  1847  to  1878 : 

TRUSTEES    OR    REGENTS. 

PRESIDENTS. 

FROM  TO 

James  Harlan,  Superintendent  Public  Instruction,  ex  officio 1847  1848 

Thomas  H.  Benton,  Jr,,  Superintendent  Public  Instruction,  ex  officio 1848  1854 

James  D.  Eads,  Superintendent  Public  Instruction,  ex  officio 1854  1857 

Maturin  L.  Fisher,  Superintendent  Public  Instruction,  ex  officio 1857  1858 

Amos  Dean,  Chancellor,  ex  officio 1858  1859 

Thomas  H.  Benton,  Jr 1859  1863 

Francis  Springer , 1863  1864 

William  M.  Stone,  Governor,  ex  officio 1864  1868 

Samuel  Merrill,  Governor,  ex  officio 1868  1872 

Cyrus  C.  Carpenter,  Governor,  ex  officio 1872  1876 

Samuel  J.  Kirkvi^ood,  Governor,  ex  officio , 1S76  1877 

Joshua  G.  Newbold,  Governor,  ex  officio 1877  1878 

John  H.  Gear * 1878  


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  19S 

VICE    PRESIDENTS.  y^OM  TO 

Silas  Foster 1847  1851 

Robert  Lucas 1851  1853 

Edward  Connelly I854  1855 

Moses  J.  Morsman 1855  1858 

SECRETARIES. 

Hugh  D.  Downey I847  1851 

Anson  Hart 1851  1857 

Elijah  Sells I857  1858 

Anson  Hart 1858  1864 

William  J.  Haddock 1864 

TREASURERS. 

Morgan  Reno,  State  Treasurer,  ex  officio 1847  1850 

Israel  Kister,  State  Treasurer,  ex  officio 1850  1852 

Martin  L.  Morris,  State  Treasurer,  ex  officio 1852  1855 

Henry  W.  Lathrop [[[[[[]  I855  1862 

William  Crura 1862  1868 

Ezekiel  Clark 1868  1876 

John  N.  Coldren 1876 

PRESIDENTS   OF   THE   UNIVERSITY. 

Amos  Dean,  LL.  D I855  1858 

Silas  Totten,  D.  D.,  LL.  D I860  1862 

Oliver  M.  Spencer,  D.  D.* i862  1867 

James  Black,  D.  D 1868  1870 

George  Thacher,  D.  D 1871  1877 

C.  W.  Slagle '.'.".".'.'.'."'.*.'.".'.'.".'.'.'.'.'."  1877 

The  present  educational  corps  of  the  University  consists  of  the  President, 
nine  Professors  in  the  Collegiate  Department,  one  Professor  and  six  Instructors 
in  Military  Science  ;  Chancellor,  three  Professors  and  four  Lecturers  in  the 
Law  Department ;  eight  Professor  Demonstrators  of  Anatomy ;  Prosector  of 
Surgery  and  two  Lecturers  in  the  Medical  Department,  and  two  Professors  in 
the  Homoeopathic  Medical  Department. 

STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

By  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  January  28,  1857,  a  State  His- 
torical Society  was  provided  for  in  connection  with  the  University.  At  the 
commencement,  an  appropriation  of  |250  was  made,  to  be  expended  in  collecting, 
embodying,  and  preserving  in  an  authentic  form  a  library  of  books,  pamphlets, 
charts,  maps,  manuscripts,  papers,  paintings,  statuary,  and  other  materials  illus- 
trative of  the  history  of  Iowa;  and  with  the  further  object  to  rescue  from 
oblivion  the  memory  of  the  early  pioneers;  to  obtain  and  preserve  various 
accounts  of  their  exploits,  perils  and  hardy  adventures ;  to  secure  facts  and 
statements  relative  to  the  history  and  genius,  and  progress  and  decay  of  the 
Indian  tribes  of  Iowa ;  to  exhibit  faithfully  the  antiquities  and  past  and  present 
resources  of  the  State ;  to  aid  in  the  publication  of  such  collections  of  the  Society 
as  shall  from  time  to  time  be  deemed  of  value  and  interest ;  to  aid  in  binding 
its  books,  pamphlets,  manuscripts  and  papers,  and  in  defraying  other  necessary 
incidental  expenses  of  the  Society. 

There  was  appropriated  by  law  to  this  institution,  till  the  General  Assembly 
shall  otherwise  direct,  the  sum  of  $500  per  annum.  The  Society  is  under  the 
management  of  a  Board  of  Curators,  consisting  of  eighteen  persons,  nine  of 
whom  are  appointed  by  the  Governor,  and  nine  elected  by  the  members  of  the 
Society.     The  Curators  receive  no  compensation  for  their  services.     The  annual 


194  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

meeting  is  provided  for  by  law,  to  be  held  at  Iowa  City  on  Monday  preceding 
the  last  Wednesday  in  June  of  each  year. 

The  State  Historical  Society  has  published  a  series  of  very  valuable  collec- 
tions, including  history,  biography,  sketches,  reminiscences,  etc.,  with  quite  a 
large  number  of  finely  engraved  portraits  of  prominent  and  early  settlers,  under 
the  title  of  "  Annals  of  Iowa." 


THE  PENITENTIARY. 

Located  at  Fort  Madison,  Lee  County. 

The  first  act  of  the  Territorial  Legislature,  relating  to  a  Penitentiary  in 
Iowa,  was  approved  January  25,  1839,  the  fifth  section  of  which  authorized  the 
Oovernor  to  draw  the  sum  of  $20,000  appropriated  by  an  act  of  Congress  ap- 
proved July  7,  1838,  for  public  buildings  in  the  Territory  of  Iowa.  It  provided 
for  a  Board  of  Directors  of  three  persons  elected  by  the  Legislature,  who  should 
direct  the  building  of  the  Penitentiary,  which  should  be  located  within  one  mile 
of  the  public  square,  in  the  town  of  Fort  Madison,  Lee  County,  provided  Fort 
Madison  should  deed  to  the  directors  a  tract  of  land  suitable  for  a  site,  and  assign 
them,  by  contract,  a  spring  or  stream  of  water  for  the  use  of  the  Penitentiary. 
To  the  Directors  Avas  also  given  the  power  of  appointing  the  Warden ;  the  latter 
to  appoint  his  own  assistants. 

The  first  Directors  appointed  were  John  S.  David  and  John  Claypole.  They 
made  their  first  report  to  the  Legislative  Council  November  9,  1839.  The  citi- 
zens of  the  town  of  Fort  Madison  had  executed  a  deed  conveying  ten  acres  of 
land  for  the  building  site.  Amos  Ladd  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  the 
building  June  5,  1839.  The  building  was  designed  of  sufiicient  capacity  to  con- 
tain one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  convicts,  and  estimated  to  cost  ^55,933.90. 
It  was  begun  on  the  9th  of  July,  1839  ;  the  main  building  and  Warden's  house 
were  completed  in  the  Fall  of  1841.  Other  additions  were  made  from  time  to 
time  till  the  building  and  arrangements  were  all  complete  according  to  the  plan 
of  the  Directors.  It  has  answered  the  purpose  of  the  State  as  a  Penitentiary 
for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  during  that  period  many  items  of  practical  ex- 
perience in  prison  management  have  been  gained. 

It  has  long  been  a  problem  how  to  conduct  prisons,  and  deal  with  what  are 
called  the  criminal  classes  generally,  so  as  to  secure  their  best  good  and  best 
subserve  the  interests  of  the  State.  Both  objects  must  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion in  any  humaritarian  view  of  the  subject.  This  problem  is  not  yet  solved, 
but  Iowa  has  adopted  the  progressive  and  enlightened  policy  of  humane  treat- 
ment of  prisoners  and  the  utilization  of  their  labor  for  their  own  support.  The 
labor  of  the  convicts  in  the  Iowa  Penitentiary,  as  in  most  others  in  the  United 
States,  is  let  out  to  contractors,  who  pay  the  State  a  certain  stipulated  amount 
therefor,  the  State  furnishing  the  shops,  tools  and  machinery,  as  well  as  the 
supervision  necessary  to  preserve  order  and  discipline  in  the  prison. 

While  this  is  an  improvement  upon  the  old  solitary  confinement  system,  it 
still  falls  short  of  an  enlightened  reformatory  system  that  in  the  future  will 
treat  the  criminal  for  mental  disease  and  endeavor  to  restore  him  to  usefulness 
in  the  community.  The  objections  urged  against  the  contract  system  of  dis- 
posing of  the  labor  of  prisoners,  that  it  brings  the  labor  of  honest  citizens  into 
competition  with  convict  labor  at  reduced  prices,  and  is  disadvantageous  to  the 
State,  are  not  without  force,  and  the  system  will  have  no  place  in  the  prisons  of 
the  future. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  195 

It  is  right  that  the  convict  should  labor.  He  should  not  be  allowed  to  live 
in  idleness  at  public  expense.  Honest  men  labor  ;  why  should  not  they?  Hon- 
est men  are  entitled  to  the  fruits  of  their  toil ;  why  should  not  the  convict  as 
well  ?  The  convict  is  sent  to  the  Penitentiary  to  secure  public  safety.  The 
State  deprives  him  of  his  liberty  to  accomplish  this  purpose  and  to  punish  him 
for  violations  of  law,  but,  having  done  this,  the  State  wrongs  both  itself  and  the 
criminal  by  confiscating  his  earnings  ;  because  it  deprives  his  family  of  what 
justly  belongs  to  them,  and  an  enlightened  civilization  will  ere  long  demand 
that  the  prisoner  in  the  penitentiary,  after  paying  a  fair  price  for  his  board,  is 
as  justly  entitled  to  his  net  earnings  as  the  good  citizen  outside  its  walls,  and 
his  family,  if  he  has  one,  should  be  entitled  to  draw  his  earnings  or  stated  portion 
of  them  at  stated  periods.  If  he  has  no  family,  then  if  his  net  earnings  should 
be  set  aside  to  his  credit  and  paid  over  to  him  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
imprisonment,  he  would  notbe  turned  out  upon  the  cold  charities  of  a  somewhat 
Pharisaical  world,  penniless,  with  the  brand  of  the  convict  upon  his  brow,  with 
no  resource  save  to  sink  still  deeper  in  crime.  Let  Iowa,  "  The  Beautiful  Land," 
be  first  to  recognize  the  rights  of  its  convicts  to  the  fruits  of  their  labor  ;  keep 
their  children  from  the  alms-house,  and  place  a  powerful  incentive  before  them 
to  become  good  citizens  when  they  return  to  the  busy  world  again. 


ADDITIONAL  PENITENTIARY. 

Located  at  Anamosa,  Jones  County. 

By  an  act  of  the  Fourteenth  General  Assembly,  approved  April  23,  1872, 
William  Ure,  Foster  L.  Downing  and  Martin  Heisey  were  constituted  Commis- 
sioners to  locate  and  provide  for  the  erection  and  control  of  an  additional 
Penitentiary  for  the  State  of  Iowa.  These  Commissioners  met  on  the  4th  of 
the  following  June,  at  Anamosa,  Jones  County,  and  selected  a  site  donated  by 
the  citizens,  within  the  limits  of  the  city.  L.  W.  Foster  &  Co.,  architects,  of 
Des  Moines,  furnished  the  plan,  drawings  and  specifications,  and  work  was 
commenced  on  the  building  on  the  28th  day  of  September,  1872.  May  13, 
1873,  twenty  convicts  were  transferred  to  Anamosa  from  the  Fort  Madison 
Penitentiary.  The  entire  enclosure  includes  fifteen  acres,  with  a  frontage  of 
663  feet. 

IOWA  HOSPITAL  FOR  THE  INSANE. 

Mount  Pleasant,  Henry  County. 

By  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Iowa,  approved  January  24,  1855, 
$4,425  were  appropriated  for  the  purchase  of  a  site,  and  $50,000  for  building 
an  Insane  Hospital,  and  the  Governor  (Grimes),  Edward  Johnston,  of  Lee 
County,  and  Charles  S.  Blake,  of  Henry  County,  were  appointed  to  locate  the 
institution  and  superintend  the  erection  of  the  building.  These  Commission- 
ers located  the  institution  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Henry  County.  A  plan  for  a 
building  designed  to  accommodate  300  patients,  drawn  by  Dr.  Bell,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, was  accepted,  and  in  October  work  was  commenced  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Mr.  Henry  Winslow.  Up  to  February  25,  1858,  and  including  an 
appropriation  made  on  that  date,  the  Legislature  had  appropriated  $258,555.67 
to  this  institution,  but  the  building  was  not  finished  ready  for  occupancy  by 
patients  until  March  1,  1861.  The  Trustees  were  Maturin  L.  Fisher,  Presi- 
dent,   Farmersburg;     Samuel   McFarland,    Secretary,   Mt.    Pleasant;    D.   L. 


196  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

McGudn,  Keokuk;  G.  W.  Kincaid,  Muscatine;  J.  D.  Elbert,  Keosauqua ; 
John  B.  Lash  and  Harpin  Riggs,  Mt.  Pleasant.  Richard  J.  Patterson,  M.  D., 
of  Ohio,  -was  elected  Superintendent;  Dwight  C.  Dewey,  M.  D.,  Assistant 
PliYsioian;  Henry  Winslow,  Steward;  Mrs.  Catharine  Winslow,  Matron. 
The  Hospital  was  formally  opened  March  G,  1861,  and  one  hundred  patients 
were  admitted  within  three  months.  About  1865,  Dr.  Mark  Ranney  became 
Superintendent.  April  18,  1876,  a  portion  of  the  hospital  building  Avas 
destroyed  by  fire.  From  the  opening  of  the  Hospital  to  the  close  of  October, 
1877,  3,584  patients  had  been  admitted.  Of  these,  1,141  were  discharged 
recovered,  505  discharged  improved,  589  discharged  unimproved,  and  1  died ; 
total  discharged,  2,976,  leaving  608  inmates.  During  this  period,  there  were 
1,384  females  admitted,  whose  occupation  was  registered  "domestic  duties ;" 
1'2'2,  no  occupation;  '25,  female  teachers;  11,  seamstresses;  and  25,  servants. 
Among  the  males  were  916  farmers,  394  laborers,  205  without  occupation,  39 
cabinet  makers,  23  brewers,  31  clerks,  26  merchants,  12  preachers,  18  shoe- 
makers, 13  students.  14  tailors,  13  teachers,  14  agents,  17  masons,  7  lawyers, 
7  physicians,  4  saloon  keepers,  3  salesmen,  2  artists,  and  1  editor.  The  pro- 
ducts of  the  farm  and  garden,  in  1876,  amounted  to  iJ^13,721.26. 

Trustees,  ZcST/.'—T.  Whiting,  President,  Mt.  Pleasant;  Mrs.  E.  M.  Elliott, 
Secretary,  Mt.  Pleasant;  William  C.  Evans,  West  Liberty;  L.  E.  Fellows, 
Lansing ;  and  Samuel  Klein,  Keokuk  ;  Treasurer,  M.  Edwards,  Mt.  Pleasant. 

Besident  Officers: — Mark  Ranney,  M.  D.,  Medical  Superintendent;  H.  M. 
Bassett,  M,  D..* First  Assistant  Physician;  M.  Riordan,  M.  D.,  Second  Assistant 
Physician;  Jennie McCowen,  M.  D.,  Third  Assistant  Physician  ;  J.  W.  Hender- 
son, Steward ;  Mrs.  Martha  W.  Ranney,  Matron ;  Rev.  Milton  Sutton, 
Chaplain. 

HOSPITAL  FOR  THE  INSANE. 

IndejH'ndenee,  BucJianan  Counti/. 

In  the  Winter  of  1867-8,  a  bill  providing  for  an  additional  Hospital  for  the 
Insane  was  passed  by  the  Legislature,  and  an  appropriation  cf  §125,000  was 
made  for  that  purpose.  Maturin  L.  Fisher,  of  Clayton  County ;  E.  G.  Morgan, 
of  Webster  County,  and  Albert  Clark,  of  Buchanan  County,  were  appointed 
Commissioners  to  locate  and  supervise  the  erection  of  the  Building.  Mr.  Clark 
died  about  a  year  after  his  appointment,  and  Hon.  G.  W .  Bemis,  of  Indepen- 
dence, was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

The  Commissioners  met  and  commenced  their  labors  on  the  8th  day  of 
June,  1868,  at  Independence.  The  act  under  which  they  were  appointed 
required  them  to  select  the  most  eligible  and  desirable  location,  of  not  less  than 
320  acres.  Avithin  two  miles  of  the  city  of  Independence,  that  might  be  offered 
by  the  citizens  free  of  charge  to  the  State.  Several  such  tracts  Avere  ofiered, 
but  the  Commissioners  finally  selected  the  south  half  of  soutliAvest  quarter  o1 
Section  5 ;  the  north  half  of  northeast  quarter  of  Section  7  ;  the  north  half  of 
nortliAvest  quarter  of  Section  8,  and  the  north  half  of  northeast  quarter  of  Sec- 
tion 8,  all  in  ToAA'nship  88  north.  Range  9  Avest  of  the  Fifth  Principal  Meridian. 
This  location  is  on  the  Avest  side  of  the  Wapsipinicon  River,  and  about  a  mile 
from  its  banks,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  Independence. 

Col.  S.  Y.  Shipman,  of  Madison,  Wis.,  Avas  emploved  to  prepare  plans, 
specifications  and  draAvings  of  the  building,  Avhich,  Avhen  completed,  Avere  sub- 
mitted to  Dr.  M.  Ranney,  Superintendent  of  the  Hospital  at  Mount  Pleasant. 
Avho  suggested  several  improvements.     The  contract  for  erecting  the  building 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  197 

was  awarded  to  Mr.  David  Armstrong;,  of  Dubuque,  for  |88,114.  The  con- 
tract was  signed  November  7,  1868,  and  Mr.  Armstrong  at  once  commenced 
work.  Mr.  George  Josselyn  was  appointed  to  superintend  the  work.  The 
main  buihlings  were  constructed  of  dressed  limestone,  from  the  quarries  at 
Anamosa  and  Farley.  The  basements  are  of  the  local  granite  worked  from  the 
immense  boulders  found  in  large  quantities  in  this  portion  of  the  State. 

In  1872,  the  buihling  was  so  liir  completed  that  the  Commissioners  called 
the  first  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  on  the  10th  day  of  July  of  that  year.  These 
Trustees  Avere  Maturin  L.  Fisher,  Mrs.  P.  A.  Appleman,  T.  W.  Fawcett,  C.  / 
C.  Parker,  E.  G.  Morgan,  George  W.  Bemis  and  John  M.  Boggs.  This  board 
was  organized,  on  the  day  above  mentioned,  by  the  election  of  Hon.  M.  L. 
Fisher,  President ;  Rev.  J.  G.  Boggs,  Secretary,  and  George  W.  Bemis,  Treas- 
urer, and,  after  adopting  preliminary  measures  for  organizing  the  local  govern- 
ment of  the  hospital,  adjourned  to  the  first  Wednesday  of  the  following  Septem- 
ber. A  few  days  before  this  meeting,  Mr.  Boggs  died  of  malignant  fever, 
and  Dr.  John  G.  House  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Dr.  House  was 
elected  Secretary.  At  this  meeting,  Albert  Reynolds,  M.  D.,  was  elected 
Superintendent ;  George  Josselyn,  Steward,  and  Mrs.  Anna  B.  Josselyn, 
Matron.  September  4,  1873,  Dr.  Willis  Butterfield  was  elected  Assistant 
Physician.     The  building  was  ready  for  occupancy  April  21,  1873, 

In  the  Spring  of  1876,  a  contract  was  made  with  Messrs.  Mackay  &  Lundy, 
of  Independence,  for  furnishing  materials  for  building  the  outside  walls  of  the 
two  first  sections  of  the  south  wing,  next  to  the  ctnter  ^building,  for  $6,250. 
The  carpenter  work  on  the  fourth  and  fifth  stories  of  the  center  building  was 
completed  during  the  same  year,  and  the  wards  were  furnished  and  occupied  by 
patients  in  the  Fall. 

In  1877,  the  south  wing  was  built,  but  it  will  not  be  completed  ready  for 
occupancy  until  next  Spring  or  Summer  (1878). 

October  1,  1877,  the  Superintendent  reported  322  patients  in  this  hospital, 
and  it  is  now  overcrowded. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  at  present  (1878)  are  as  follows :  Matyrin  L. 
Fisher,  President,  Farmersburg ;  John  G.  House,  M.  D.,  Secretary,  Indepen- 
dence ;  Wm.  G.  Donnan,  Treasurer,  Independence  ;  Erastus  G.  Morgan,  Fort 
Dodge ;  Mrs.  Prudence  A.  Appleman,  Clermont ;  arid  Stephen  E.  Robinson, 
M.  D.,  West  Union. 

RESIDENT    OFFICERS. 

Albert  Reynolds,  M.  D.,  Superintendent;  G.  IT.  Hill,  M.  D.,  Assistant 
Physician;  Noyes  Appleman,  Steward;  Mrs.  Lucy  M.  Gray,  Matron. 

IOWA  COLLEGE  FOR  THE  BLIND. 

Vinton,  Benton  'Counts/. 

In  August,  1852,  Prof.  Samuel  Bacon,  himself  blind,  established  an  Insti- 
tution for  the  Instruction  of  the  Blind  of  Iowa,  at  Keokuk. 

By  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  entitled  "  An  act  to  establish  an  Asylum 
for  the  Blind,"  app,roved  January  18,  1853,  the  institution  was  adopted  by  the 
State,  removed  to  Iowa  City,  February  3d,  and  opened  for  the  reception  of  pupils 
April  4,  1853,  free  to  all  "the  blind  in  the  State. 

The  first  Board  of  Trustees  were  James  D.  Eads,  President ;  George  W. 
McClary,  Secretary;  James  II.  Gower,  Treasurer;  Martin  L.  Morris,  Stephen 
Hempstead,  Morgan  Reno  and  John  McCaddon.     The  Board  appointed  Prof 


198  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

Samuel  Bacon,  Principal;  T.  J.  McGittigen,  Teacher  of  Music,  and  Mrs.  Sarah 
K.  Bacon,  Matron.     Twenty-three  pupils  were  admitted  during  the  first  term. 

In  his  first  report,  made  in  1854,  Prof.  Bacon  suggested  that  the  name 
should  be  changed  from  ''Asylum  for  the  Blind,"  to  that  of  " Institution  for 
the  Instruction  of  the  Blind."  This  was  done  in  1855,  when  the  General  As- 
sembly made  an  annual  appropriation  for  the  College  of  ^55  per  quarter  for 
each  pupil.  This  was  subsequently  changed  to  $3,000  per  annum,  and  a  charge 
of  $25  as  an  admission  fee  for  each  pupil,  which  sum,  with  the  amounts  realized 
from  the  sale  of  articles  manufactured  by  the  blind  pupils,  proved  sufiicient  for 
the  expenses  of  the  institution  during  Mr.  Bacon's  administration.  Although 
Mr.  Bacon  was  blind,  he  was  a  fine  scholar  and  an  economical  manager,  and 
had  founded  the  Blind  Asylum  at  Jacksonville,  Illinois.  As  a  mathematician 
he  had  few  superiors. 

On  the  8th  of  May,  1858,  the  Trustees  met  at  Yinton,  and  made  arrange- 
ments for  securing  the  donation  of  $5,000  made  by  the  citizens  of  that  town. 

In  June  of  that  year,  a  quarter  section  of  land  was  donated  for  the  College, 
by  John  W.  0.  Webb  and  others,  and  the  Trustees  adopted  a  plan  for  the 
erection  of  a  suitable  building.  In  1860,  the  plan  was  modified,  and  the  con- 
tract for  enclosing  let  to  Messrs.  Finkbine  &  Lovelace,  for  $10,420. 

In  August,  1862,  the  building  was  so  far  completed  that  the  goods  and  fur- 
uiture  of  the  institution  were  removed  from  Iowa  City  to  Vinton,  and  early  in 
October,  the  school  was  opened  there  with  twenty-four  pupils.  At  this  time. 
Rev.  Orlando  Clark  was  Principal. 

In  August,  1864,  a  new  Board  of  Trustees  were  appointed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture, consisting  of  James  McQuin,  President;  Reed  Wilkinson,  Secretary;  Jas. 
Chapin,  Treasurer;  Robert  Gilchrist,  Elijah  Sells  and  Joseph  Dysart,  organized 
and  made  important  changes.  Rev.  Reed  Wilkinson  succeeded  Mr.  Clark  as 
Principal.  Mrs.  L.  S.  B.  Wilkinson  and  Miss  Amelia  Butler  were  appointed 
Assistant  Teachers ;  Mrs.  N.  A.  Morton,  Matron. 

Mr.  Wilkinson  resigned  in  June,  1867,  and  Gen.  James  L.  Geddes  was 
appointed  in  his  place.  In  September,  1869,  Mr.  Geddes  retired,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Prof.  S.  A.  Knapp.  Mrs.  S.  C.  LaAvton  was  appointed  Matron, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  M.  A.   Knapp.     Prof.   Knapp  resigned  July  1, 

1875,  and  Prof.    Orlando  Clark  was    elected  Principal,    who    died   April  2, 

1876,  and  was  succeeded  by  John  B.  Parmalee,  who  retired  in  July,  1877, 
when  the  present  incumbent.  Rev.  Robert  Carothers,  was  elected. 

Trustees,  1S77-S. — Jeremiah  L.  Gay,  President;  S.  H.Watson,  Treasurer; 
H.  C.  Piatt,  Jacob  Springer,  C.  L.  Flint  and  P.  F.  Sturgis. 

Faculty. — Principal,  Rev.  Robert  Carothers,  A.  M. ;  Matron,  Mrs.  Emeline 
E.  Carothers;  Teachers,  Thomas  F.  McCune,  A.  B.,  Miss  Grace  A.  Hill, 
Mrs.  C.  A.  Spencer,  INIiss  Mary  Baker,  Miss  C.  R.  Miller,  Miss  Lorana  Mat- 
tice.  Miss  A.  M.  McCutcheon;' Musical  Director,  S.  0.  Spencer. 

The  Legislative  Committee  who  visited  this  institution  in  1878  expressed 
their  astonishment  at  the  vast  expenditure  of  money  in  proportion  to  the  needs 
of  the  State.  The  structure  is  well  built,  and  the  money  properly  expended ; 
yet  it  was  enormously  beyond  the  necessities  of  the  State,  and  shows  an  utter 
"disregard  of  the  fitness  of  things.  The  Committee  could  not  understand  why 
$282,000  should  have  been  expended  for  a  massive  building  covering  about  two 
and  a  half  acres  for  the  accommodation  of  130  people,  costing  over  eight  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year  to  heat  it,  and  costing  the  State  about  five  hundred  dollars 
a  year  for  each  pupil. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  199 

INSTITUTION  FOR  THE  DExVF  AND  DUMB. 

Council  Bluffs,  Pottawattomie  County. 

The  Iowa  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  was  established  at  Iowa  City 
by  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  January  24,  1855.  The  number 
of  deaf  mutes  then  in  the  State  was  301 ;  the  number  attending  the  Institution, 
50.  The  first  Board  of  Trustees  Avere:  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  Hon.  E. 
Sells,  W.  Penn  Clarke,  J.  P.  Wood,  H.  D.  Downey,  William  Crum,  W.  E. 
Ijams,  Principal.  On  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Ijams,  in  1862,  the  Board 
appointed  in  his  stead  Mr.  Benjamin  Talbot,  for  nine  years  a  teacher  in  the 
Ohio  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb.  Mr.  Talbot  was  ardently  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  the  institution  and  a  faithful  worker  for  the  unfortunate  class 
under  his  charge. 

A  strong  effort  was  made,  in  1866,  to  remove  this  important  institution  to 
Des  Moines,  but  it  was  located  permanently  at  Council  Bluffs,  and  a  building 
rented  for  its  use.  In  1868,  Commissioners  were  appointed  to  locate  a  site  for, 
and  to  superintend  the  erection  of,  a  new  building,  for  which  the  Legislature 
appropriated  $125,000  to  commence  the  work  of  construction.  The  Commis- 
sioners selected  ninety  acres  of  land  about  two  miles  south  of  the  city  of  Coun- 
cil Bluffs.  The  main  building  and  one  wing  were  completed  October  1,  1870, 
and  immediately  occupied  by  the  Institution.  February  25,  1877,  the  main 
building  and  east  wing  were  destroyed  by  fire;  and  August  6  following,  the 
roof  of  the  new  west  wing  was  blown  off  and  the  walls  partially  demolished  by 
a  tornado.  At  the  time  of  the  fire,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pupils  were  in 
attendance.  After  the  fire,  half  the  classes  were  dismissed  and  the  number  of 
scholars  reduced  to  about  seventy,  and  in  a  week  or  two  the  school  was  in  run- 
ning order. 

The  Legislative  Committee  which  visited  this  Institution  in  the  Winter  of 
1857-8  was  not  Avell  pleased  with  the  condition  of  affairs,  and  reported  that  the 
building  (west  wing)  was  a  disgrace  to  the  State  and  a  monument  of  unskillful 
workmanship,  and  intimated  rather  strongly  that  some  reforms  in  management 
were  very  essential. 

Trustees,  7<577-<§.— Thomas  Officer,  President ;  N.  P.  Dodge,  Treasurer ; 
Paul  Lange,  William  Orr,  J.  W.  Cattell. 

Superintendent,  Benjamin  Talbot,  M.  A.  Teachers,  Edwin  Southwick, 
Conrad  S.  Zorbaugh,  John  A.  Gillespie,  John  A.  Kennedy,  Ellen  J.  Israel, 
Ella  J.  Brown,  Mrs.  H.  R.  Gillespie ;  Physician,  H.  W.  Hart,  M.  D. ;  Steward, 
N.  A.  Taylor;  Matron,  Mary  B.  Swan. 

SOLDIERS'   ORPHANS'   HOMES. 

Davenport,  Cedar  Falls,  Grlenwood. 

The  movement  which  culminated  in  the  establishment  of  this  beneficent  in- 
stitution was  originated  by  Mrs.  Annie  Wittenmeyer,  during  the  civil  Avar  of 
1861-65.  This  noble  and  patriotic  lady  called  a  convention  at  Muscatine,  on 
the  7th  of  October  1863,  for  the  purpose  of  devising  measures  for  the  support 
and  education  of  the  orphan  children  of  the  brave  sons  of  Iowa,  who  had  fallen 
in  defense  of  national  honor  and  integrity.  So  great  Avas  the  public  interest  in 
the  movement  that  there  Avas  a  large  representation  from  all  parts  of  the  State 
on  the  day  named,  and  an  association  was  organized  called  the  loAva  State  Or- 
phan Asylum. 


-00  HISTORY  OF  Tin-:  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

The  lirst  oHioors  were:  rresideut,  "William  M.  Stone  ;  Tice  Presidents,  Mrs. 
G-.  G.  Wright,  3Irs.  R.  L.  Cadle,  Mrs.  J.  T.  llaneoek,  John  R.  Needham,  J.  AV. 
Cattell,  Mrs.  Marv  ]M.  Bagg ;  Recording  Secretary,  Miss  Marv  Kibben  ;  Cor- 
responding Secretary,  Miss  M.  E.  Shelron ;  Treasurer,  X.  IT.  Brainerd;  Board 
of  Trustees,  Mrs.  Annie  Witrennun-er,  Mrs.  0.  B.  Darwin.  ]Mrs.  D.  T.  Newcouib. 
Mrs.  L.  B.  Stephens,  0.  Favville,'  E.  H.  Williams,  T.  S.  Parvin,  Mrs.  Shields. 
Caleb  Baldwin,  C.  C.  Cole,  Isaac  Pendleton,  H.  C.  Henderson. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Trustees  was  held  February  14, 1864,  in  the  Repre- 
sentative Hall,  at  Des  Moines.  Counnittees  from  both  branches  of  the  General 
Assembly  were  present  and  were  invited  to  ]iartici}iate  in  their  deliberations. 
Gov.  Kirkwood  suggested  that  a  home  for  disabled  soldiers  should  be  connected 
with  the  Asylum.     Arrangements  Avere  made  for  raising  funds. 

At  the  next  meeting,  in  Davenport,  in  March,  1864,  the  Trustees  decided  to 
commence  operations  at  once,  and  a  committee,  of  which  Mr.  Howell,  of  Keo- 
kuk, was  Chairman,  was  appointed  to  lease  a  suitable  building,  solicit  donations, 
and  procure  suitable  furniruve.  This  committee  secured  a  large  brick  building 
in  LaAvrence,  A'an  Buren  Countv,  and  enmisi'ed  jNIr.  Fuller,  of  Mt.  Pleasant,  as 
b  toward. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  in  Des  Moines,  in  June,  1864,  Mrs.  C.  B.  Baldwin, 
Mrs.  G.  G.  Wriglit,  Mrs.  Dr.  Horton,  Miss  :Mary  E.  Shelton  and  Mr.  George 
Shernuin  were  aj^pointed  a  committee  to  furnish  the  building  and  take  all  neces- 
sary steps  for  opening  the  "Home,"  and  notice  was  given  that  at  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Association,  a  motion  would  be  made  to  change  the  name  of  the 
Institution  to  Iowa  Orphans'  Home. 

The  work  of  preparation  was  conducted  so  vigorously  that  on  the  loth  day 
of  July  following,  the  Executive  Committee  announced  that  they  were  ready  to 
receive  the  children.  In  three  weeks  twenty-one  were  admitted,  and  the  num- 
ber constantly  increased,  so  that,  in  a  little  UKtre  than  six  months  from  the  time 
of  opening,  there  were  seventy  children  admitted,  and  twenty  more  applica- 
tions, which  the  Committee  had  not  acted  upon — all  orphans  of  soldiers. 

Miss  M.  Elliott,  of  Washington,  was  appointed  Matron.  She  resigned, 
in  February,  1865,  and  Avas  succeeded  by  Mrs.  E.  G.  Piatt,  of  Fremont 
County. 

The  "•Home  "  was  sustained  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  the  people, 
until  1866,  Avhen  it  Avas  assumed  by  the  State.  In  that  year,  the  General 
Assembly  provided  for  the  location  of  several  such  "Homes"  in  the  different 
counties,  and  Avhich  Avere  established  at  Davenport,  Scott  County;  Cedar  Falls, 
Black  HaAvk  County,  and  at  GleuAvood,  Mills  County. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  elected  by  the  General  Assembly  had  the  oversight 
and  numagement  of  the  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Homes  of  the  State,  and  consisted 
of  one  person  from  each  county  in  Avhich  such  Home  Avas  located,  and  one  for 
the  State  at  large,  Avho  held  their  othce  tAvo  years,  or  nntil  their  successors  were 
elected  and  qualified.  An  appropriation  of  ^10  per  month  for  each  orphan 
actually  supported  Avas  ntade  by  the  General  Assembly. 

The  Home  in  Cedar  Falls  Avas  organized  in  1S65,  and  an  old  hotel  building 
Avas  fitted  up  for  it.  Rufus  C,  INIary  L.  and  Emma  L.  Bauer  Avere  the  first 
children  received,  in  October,  and  by  January,  1866,  there  Avere  ninety-six  in- 
mates. 

October  12,  1860,  the  Home  Avas  removed  to  a  large  brick  building,  about 
two  miles  Avest  of  Cedar  Falls,  and  Avas  A-ery  prosperous  for  several  years,  but 
in  1876,  the  General  Assembly  established  a  State  Normal  School  at  Cedar 
Falls  and  appropriated  the  bnildings  and  grounds  for  that  purpose. 


HISTOllY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  201 

By  "  An  act  to  provide  for  the  organization  and  support  of  an  asyliun  at 
Glenwood,  in  Mills  County,  for  feeble  minded  children,"  approved  March  17, 
1876,  the  buildings  and  grounds  used  by  the  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home  at  that 
place  were  appropriated  for  this  purpose.  15y  another  act,  approved  March  15, 
1870,  the  soldiers'  orphans,  then  at  tlie  Homes  at  (glenwood  and  Cedar  Falls, 
were  to  be  removed  to  the  Home  at  Davenport  within  ninety  days  tlicreafter, 
and  the  Board  of  Trusteesof  the  Home  were  authorized  to  receive  other  indigent 
children  into  that  institution,  and  provide  for  their  education  in  industrial 
pursuits. 

STATE  NORMAL   SCHOOL. 
Cedar  Falls,  Black  Hawk  County. 

Chapter  129  of  the  laws  of  the  Sixteenth  General  Assembly,  in  1876,  estab- 
lished a  State  Normal  School  at  Cedar  Falls,  ]51ack  1  lawk  County,  and  reciuired 
the  Trustees  of  the  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home  to  turn  over  the  property  in  their 
charge  to  the  Directors  of  the  new  institution. 

the  Board  of  Directors  met  at  Cedar  Falls  June  7,  1876,  and  duly  organ- 
ized by  the  election  of  IL  C.  Hemenway,  President;  J.  J.  Toleston,  Secretary, 
and  E.  Townsend,  Treasurer.  The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Soldiers'  Orphans' 
Home  met  at  the  same  time  for  the  purpose  of  turning  over  to  the  Directors  the 
property  of  that  institution,  which  was  satisfactorily  done  and  properly  receipted 
for  as  required  by  law.  At  this  meeting,  Prof.  J.  C.  Gilchrist  was  elected 
Principal  of  the  School. 

On  the  12th  of  July,  1876,  the  Board  again  met,  when  executive  and 
teachers'  committees  were  appointed  and  their  duties  assigned.  A  Steward 
and  a  Matron  were  elected,  and  their  respective  duties  defined. 

The  buildings  and  grounds  were  repaired  and  fitted  up  as  Avell  as  the  appro- 
priation would  admit,  and  the  first  term  of  the  school  opened  September  6, 1876, 
connnencing  with  twenty-seven  and  closing  with  eighty-seven  students.  The 
second  term  closed  with  eighty-six,  and  one  hundred  and  six  attended  during 
the  third  term. 

The  following  are  the  Board  of  Directors,  Board  of  Officers  and  Faculty  : 

Board  of  Directors. — H.  C.  Hemenway,  Cedar  Falls,  President,  term 
expires  1882  ;  L.  D.  Lewelling,  Salem,  Henry  County,  1878  ;  W.  A.  Stow, 
Hamburg,  Fremont  County,  1878;  S.  G.  Smith,  Newton,  Jasper  County, 
1880;  E.  11.  Thayer,  Clinton,  Clinton  County,  1880;  G.  S.  Robinson,  Storm 
Lake,  Buena  Vista  County,  1882. 

Board  of  Otfieers.—3.  J-  Toleston,  Secretary;  E.  Townsend,  Ireasurer; 
William  Pattes,'  Steward ;  Mrs.  P.  A.  Schermerhorn,  Matron— all  of  Cedar 

Faculty.— J.  C.  Gilchrist,  A.  M.,  Principal,  Professer  of  Mental  and 
Moral  Philosophy  and  Didactics ;  M.  W.  Bartlett,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Lan- 
guao-es  and  Natural  Science  ;  D.  S.  Wright,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Mathematics  ; 
Miss  Frances  L.  Webster,  Teacher  of  Geography  and  History  ;  E.  W.  Burnham, 
Professor  of  Music. 

ASYLUM  FOR  FEEBLE  MINDED  CHILDREN. 

Cflemvoodj  Mills  County. 
Chapter  152  of  the  laws  of  the  Sixteenth  General  Assembly,  approved 
March  17,  1876,  provided  for  the  establishment  of  an  asylum  for  feeble  minded 
children  at   Glenwood,  Mills  County,  and  the  buildings  and  grounds  of  the 


202  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home  at  that  place  were  to  be  used  for  that  purpose.  The 
asylum  was  placed  under  the  management  of  three  Trustees,  one  at  least  of 
whom  should  be  a  resident  of  Mills  County.  Children  between  the  ages  of  7 
and  18  years  are  admitted.  Ten  dollars  per  month  for  each  child  actually  sup- 
ported by  the  State  was  appropriated  by  the  act,  and  ^2,000  for  salaries  of 
officers  and  teachers  for  two  years. 

Hon.  J.  W.  Cattell,  of  Polk  County  ;  A.  J.  Russell,  of  Mills  County,  and 
W.  S.  Robertson,  were  appointed  Trustees,  who  held  their  first  meeting  at 
Glen  wood,  April  26,  1876.  J\Ir.  Robertson  was  elected  President;  Mr.  Russell, 
Treasurer,  and  Mr.  Cattell,  Secretary.  The  Trustees  found  the  house  and  farm 
which  had  been  turned  over  to  them  in  a  shamefully  dilapidated  condition.  The 
fences  were  broken  down  and  the  lumber  destroyed  or  carried  away;  the  win- 
dows broken,  doors  oif  their  hinges,  floors  broken  and  filthy  in  the  extreme, 
cellars  reeking  with  oflensive  odors  from  decayed  vegetables,  and  every  conceiv- 
able variety  of  filth  and  garbage ;  drains  obstructed,  cisterns  broken,  pump 
demoralized,  wind-mill  broken,  roof  leaky,  and  tlie  whole  property  in  the  worst 
possible  condition.  It  was  the  first  work  of  the  Trustees  to  make  the  house 
tenable.  This  was  done  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Russell.  At  the  request 
of  the  Trustees,  Dr.  Charles  T.  Wilbur,  Superintendent  of  the  Illinois  Asylum, 
visited  Glenwood,  and  made  many  valuable  suggestions,  and  gave  them  much 
assistance. 

0.  W.  Archibald,  M.  D.,  of  Glenwood,  was  appointed  Superintendent, 
and  soon  after  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Board,  vice  Cattell,  resigned. 
Mrs.  S.  A.  Archibald  was  appointed  Matron,  and  Miss  Maud  M.  Archibald, 
Teacher. 

The  Institution  was  opened  September  1,  1876 ;    the  first  pupil  admitted 
September  4,  and  the  school  was  organized  September  10,  with  only  five  pupils, 
which  number  had,  in  November,  1877,  increased  to  eighty-seven.     December - 
1,  1876,  Miss  Jennie  Van  Dorin,  of  Fairfield,  was  employed  as  a  teacher  and 
in  the  Spring  of  1877,  Miss  Sabina  J.  Archibald  was  also  employed. 

THE  REFORM  SCHOOL. 

Eldora,  Hardin  County. 

By  "An  act  to  establish  and  organize  a  State  Reform  School  for  Juvenile 
Offenders,"  approved  March  31,  1868,  the  General  Assembly  established  a 
State  Reform  School  at  Salem,  Lee  (Henry)  County ;  provided  for  a  Board  of 
Trustees,  to  consist  of  one  person  from  each  Congressional  District.  For  the 
purpose  of  immediately  opening  the  school,  the  Trustees  were  directed  to  accept 
the  proposition  of  the  Trustees  of  White's  Iowa  Manual  Labor  Institute,  at 
Salem,  and  lease,  for  not  more  than  ten  years,  the  lands,  buildings,  etc.,  of  the 
Institute,  and  at  once  proceed  to  prepare  for  and  open  a  reform  school  as  a 
temporary  establishment. 

The  contract  for  fitting  up  the  buildings  was  let  to  Clark  &  Haddock,  Sep- 
tember 21,  1868,  and  on  the  7th  of  October  following,  the  first  inmate  was 
received  from  Jasper  County.  The  law  provided  for  the  admission  of  children 
of  both  sexes  under  IS  years  of  age.  In  1876,  this  was  amended,  so  that  they 
are  now  received  at  ages  over  7  and  under  16  years. 

April  19,  1872,  the  Trustees  were  directed  to  make  a  permanent  location 
for  the  school,  and  $45,000  was  appropriated  for  the  erection  of  the  necessary 
buildings.  The  Trustees  were  further  directed,  as  soon  as  practicable,  to 
organize  a  school  for  girls  in  the  buildings  where  the  boys  were  then  kept. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  "         203 

The  Trustees  located  the  school  at  Eldora,  Hardin  County,  and  in  the  Code 
of  1873,  it  is  permanently  located  there  by  law. 

The  institution  is  managed  by  five  Trustees,  who  are  paid  mileage,  but  no 
compensation  for  their  services. 

The  object  is  the  reformation  of  the  children  of  both  sexes,  under  the  age 
of  16  years  and  over  7  years  of  age,  and  the  law  requires  that  the  Trustees 
shall  require  the  boys  and  girls  under  their  charge  to  be  instructed  in  piety  and 
morality,  and  in  such  branches  of  useful  knowledge  as  are  adapted  to  their  age 
and  capacity,  and  in  some  regular  course  of  labor,  either  mechanical,  manufac- 
turing or  agricultural,  as  is  best  suited  to  their  age,  strength,  disposition  and 
capacity,  and  as  may  seem  best  adapted  to  secure  the  reformation  and  future 
benefit  of  the  boys  and  girls.  ; 

A  boy  or  girl  committed  to  the  State  Reform  School  is  there  kept,  disci- 
plined, instructed,  employed  and  governed,  under  the  direction  of  the  Trustees, 
until  he  or  she  arrives  at  the  age  of  majority,  or  is  bound  out,  reformed  or 
legally  discharged.  The  binding  out  or  discharge  of  a  boy  or  girl  as  reformed, 
or  having  arrived  at  the  age  of  majority,  is  a  complete  release  from  all  penalties 
incurred  by  conviction  of  the  offense  for  which  he  or  she  was  committed. 

This  is  one  step  in  the  right  direction.  In  the  future,  however,  still  further 
advances  will  be  made,  and  the  right  of  every  individual  to  the  fruits  of  their 
labor,  even  while  restrained  for  the  public  good,  will  be  recognized. 

FISH  HATCHING  ESTABLISHMENT. 

N'ear  Anamosa,  Jones  County. 

The  Fifteenth  General  Assembly,  in  1874,  passed  "  An  act  to  provide  for 
the  appointment  of  a  Board  of  Fish  Commissioners  for  the  construction  of 
Fishways  for  the  protection  and  propagation  of  Fish,"  also  "  An  act  to  provide 
for  furnishing  the  rivers  and  lakes  with  fish  and  fish  spawn."  This  act  appro- 
priated |3,000  for  the  purpose.  In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  first 
act  above  mentioned,  on  the  9th  of  April,  1874,  S.  B.  Evans  of  Ottumwa, 
Wapello  County  ;  B.  F.  Shaw  of  Jones  County,  and  Charles  A.  Haines,  of 
Black  Hawk  County,  were  appointed  to  be  Fish  Commissioners  by  the  Governor. 
These  Commissioners  met  at  Des  Moines,  May  10,  1874,  and  organized  by  the 
election  of  Mr.  Evans,  President ;  Mr.  Shaw,  Secretary  and  Superintendent, 
and  Mr.  Haines,  Treasurer. 

The  State  was  partitioned  into  three  districts  or  divisions  to  enable  the 
Commissioners  to  better  superintend  the  construction  of  fishways  as  required  by 
law.  That  part  of  the  State  lying  south  of  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific 
Railroad  was  placed  under  the  especial  supervision  of  Mr.  Evans  ;  that  part  be- 
tween that  railroad  and  the  Iowa  Division  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  Mr. 
Shaw,  and  all  north  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  Mr.  Haines.  At  this 
meeting,  the  Superintendent  was  authorized  to  build  a  State  Hatching  House  ; 
to  procure  the  spawn  of  valuable  fish  adapted  to  the  waters  of  Iowa  ;  hatch  and 
prepare  the  young  fish  for  distribution,  and  assist  in  putting  them  into  the  waters 
of  the  State. 

In  compliance  with  these  instructions,  Mr.  Shaw  at  once  commenced  work, 
and  in  the  Summer  of  1874,  erected  a  "  State  Hatching  House"  near  Anamosa, 
20x40  feet,  two  stories;  the  second  story  being  designed  for  a  tenement ;  the 
first  story  being  the  "hatching  room."  The  hatching  troughs  are  supplied 
with  water  from  a  magnificent  spring  four  feet  deep  and  about  ten  feet  in  diam- 
eter, affording  an  abundant  and  unfailing  supply  of  pure  running  water.  During 


204  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

the  first  year,  from  May  10, 1874,  to  May  10, 1875,  the  Commissioners  distributed 
within  the  State  100,000  Shad,  300,000  California  Salmon,  10,000  Bass, 
80,000  Penobscot  (Maine)  Salmon,  5,000  land-locked  Salmon,  20,000  of 
other  species. 

By  act  approved  March  10,  1876,  the  law  was  amended  so  that  there  should 
be  but  one  instead  of  three  Fish  Commissioners,  and  B.  F.  Shaw  was  appointed, 
and  the  Commissioner  was  authorized  to  purchase  twenty  acres  of  land,  on 
which  the  State  Hatching  House  was  located  near  Anamosa. 

In  the  Fall  of  1876,  Commissioner  Shaw  gathered  from  the  sloughs  of  the 
Mississippi,  where  they  would  have  been  destroyed,  over  a  million  and  a  half  of 
small  fish,  which  were  distributed  in  the  various  rivers  of  the  State  and  turned 
into  the  Mississippi. 

In  1875-6,  533,000  California  Salmon,  and  in  1877,  303,500  Lake  Trout 
were  distributed  in  various  rivers  and  lakes  in  the  State.  The  experiment  of 
stocking  the  small  streams  with  brook  trout  is  being  tried,  and  81,000  of  the 
speckled  beauties  were  distributed  in  1877.  In  1876,  100,000  young  eels  were 
distributed.     These  came  from  New  York  and  they  are  increasing  rapidly. 

At  the  close  of  1877,  there  were  at  least  a  dozen  private  fish  farms  in  suc- 
cessful operation  in  various  parts  of  the  State.  Commissioner  Shaw  is  en- 
thusiastically devoted  to  the  duties  of  his  office  and  has  performed  an  important 
service  for  the  people  of  the  State  by  his  intelligent  and  successful  operations. 

The  Sixteenth  General  Assembly  passed  an  act  in  1878,  prohibiting  the 
catching  of  any  kind  of  fish  except  Brook  Trout  from  March  until  June  of  each 
year.     Some  varieties  are  fit  for  food  only  during  this  period. 


THE  PUBLIC  LANDS. 

The  grants  of  public  lands  made  in  the  State  of  Iowa,  for  various  purposes, 
are  as  follows  : 


1. 

The  500,000  Acre  Grant. 

2. 

The  16th  Section  Grant. 

8. 

The  IVIortgage  School  Lands. 

4. 

The  University  Grant. 

5. 

The  Saline  Grant. 

6. 

The  Des  Moiiles  Kiver  Grant. 

7. 

The  Des  Moines  River  School  Lands. 

8. 

The  Swamp  Land  Grant. 

9. 

The  Railroad  Grant. 

10. 

The  Agricultural  College  Grant. 

I.       THE    FIVE    HUNDRED    THOUSAND    ACRE    GRANT. 

When  the  State  was  admitted  into  the  Union,  she  became  entitled  to 
500,000  acres  of  land  by  virtue  of  an  act  of  Congress,  approved  September  4, 
1841,  which  granted  to  each  State  therein  specified  500,000  acres  of  public  land 
for  internal  improvements ;  to  each  State  admitted  subsequently  to  the  passage 
of  the  act,  an  amount  of  land  which,  with  the  amount  that  might  have  been 
granted  to  her  as  a  Territory,  would  amount  to  500,000  acres.  All  these  lands 
were  required  to  be  selected  within  the  limits  of  the  State  to  which  they  were 
granted. 

The  Constitution  of  Iowa  declares  that  the  proceeds  of  this  grant,  together 
with  all  lands  then  granted  or  to  be  granted  by  Congress  for  the  benefit  of 
schools,  shall  constitute  a  perpetual  fund  for  the  support  of  schools  throughout 
the  State.     By  an  act  approved  January  15,  1849,  the  Legislature  established 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  205 

a  board  of  School  Fund  Commissioners,  and  to  that  board  was  confided  the 
selection,  care  and  sale  of  these  lands  for  the  benefit  of  the  School  Fund.  Until 
1855,  these  Commissioners  were  subordinate  to  the  Superinteudent  of  Public 
Instruction,  but  on  the  15th  of  January  of  that  year,  they  Avere  clothed  with 
exclusive  authority  in  the  management  and  sale  of  school  lands.  The  office  of 
School  Fund  Commissioner  was  abolished  March  23,  1858,  and  that  officer  in 
each  county  was  required  to  transfer  all  papers  to  and  make  full  settlement  with 
the  County  Judge.  By  this  act.  County  Judges  and  Township  Trustees  were 
made  the  agents  of  the  State  to  control  and  sell  the  sixteenth  sections ;  but  no 
further  provision  was  made  for  the  sale  of  the  500,000  acre  grant  until  April 
3d,  1860,  when  the  entire  management  of  the  school  lands  was  committed  to 
the  Boards  of  Supervisors  of  the  several  counties. 

II.      THE   SIXTEENTH    SECTIONS. 

By  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  Congress  admitting  Iowa  to  the  Union,  there 
was  granted  to  the  new  State  the  sixteenth  section  in  every  towLship,  or  where 
that  section  had  been  sold,  other  lands  of  like  amount  for  the  use  of  schools. 
The  Constitution  of  the  State  provides  that  the  proceeds  arising  from  the  sale 
of  these  sections  shall  constitute  a  part  of  the  permanent  School  Fund.  The 
control  and  sale  of  these  lands  Avere  vested  in  the  School  Fund  Commissioners 
of  the  several  counties  until  March  23,  1858,  when  they  were  transferred  to  the 
County  Judges  and  Township  Trustees,  and  were  finally  placed  under  the 
supervision  of  the  County  Boards  of  Supervisors  in  January,  1861. 

HI.       THE    MORTGAGE    SCHOOL    LANDS. 

These  do  not  belong  to  any  of  the  grants  of  land  proper.  They  are  lands 
that  have  been  mortgaged  to  the  school  fund,  and  became  school  lands  when  bid 
off  by  the  State  by  virtue  of  a  law  passed  in  1862.  Under  the  provisions  of  the 
law  regulating  the  management  and  investment  of  the  permanent  school  fund, 
persons  desiring  loans  from  that  fund  are  required  to  secure  the  payment  thereof 
with  interest  at  ten  per  cent,  per  annum,  by  promissory  notes  endorsed  by  two 
good  sureties  and  by  mortgage  on  unincumbered  real  estate,  which  must  be 
situated  in  the  county  where  the  loan  is  made,  and  which  must  be  valued  by 
three  appraisers.  Making  these  loans  and  taking  the  required  securities  was 
made  the  duty  of  the  County  Auditor,  who  was  required  to  report  to  the  Board 
of  Supervisors  at  each  meeting  thereof,  all  notes,  mortgages  and  abstracts  of 
title  connected  with  the  school  fund,  for  examination. 

When  default  was  made  of  payment  of  money  so  secured  by  mortgage,  and 
no  arrangement  made  for  extension  of  time  as  the  law  provides,  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  were  authorized  to  bring  suit  and  prosecute  it  with  diligence  to 
secure  said  fund ;  and  in  action  in  favor  of  the  county  for  the  use  of  the  school 
fund,  an  injunction  may  issue  without  bonds,  and  in  any  such  action,  when 
service  is  made  by  publication,  default  and  judgment  may  be  entered  and 
enforced  without  bonds.  In  case  of  sale  of  land  on  execution  founded  on  any 
such  mortgage,  the  attorney  of  the  board,  or  other  person  duly  authorized,  shall, 
on  behalf  of  the  State  or  county  for  the  use  of  said  fund,  bid  such  sum  as  the 
interests  of  said  fund  may  require,  and  if  struck  off  to  the  State  the  land  shall 
be  held  and  disposed  of  as  the  other  lands  belonging  to  the  fund.  These  lands 
are  known  as  the  Mortgage.  School  Lands,  and  reports  of  them,  including 
description  and  amount,  are  re(piired  to  be  made  to  the  State  Land  Office- 


206  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 


IV.       UNIVERSITY   LANDS. 


By  act  of  Congress,  July  20,  18-10,  a  quantity  of  land  not  exceeding  two 
f-ntire  townships  Avas  reserved  in  the  Territory  of  Iowa  for  the  use  and  support 
)f  a  university  within  said  Territory  when  it  should  become  a  State.  This  land 
was  to  be  located  in  tracts  of  not  less  than  an  entire  section,  and  could  be  used 
for  no  other  purpose  than  that  designated  in  the  grant.  In  an  act  supplemental 
to  that  for  the  admission  of  loAva,  March  3,  1845,  the  grant  was  renewed,  and  it 
was  provided  that  the  lands  should  be  used  "solely  for  the  purpose  of  such 
university,  in  such  manner  as  the  Legislature  may  prescribe." 

Under  this  grant  there  were  set  apart  and  approved  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  for  the  use  of  the  State,  the  following  lands : 

AOKES. 

lu  the  lowiiCity  Land  District.  Feb.  26,  1849 20,150.49 

In  the  Faivtiekl  Land  District,  Oct.  17,  1S49 9,685.20 

In  the  Iowa  Oitv  Land  District.  Jan.  28.  1850 2,571.81 

lu  the  FairtieUr  Land  District,  Sept.  10,  1850 3,198.20 

lu  the  Dubuque  Laud  District,  May  19, 1852 10,552.24 

,   Total 45,957.94 

These  lands  were  certified  to  the  State  November  19,  1859.  The  University 
lands  are  placed  by  law  under  the  control  and  management  of  the  Botird  of 
Trustees  of  the  Iowa  State  University.  Prior  to  1865,  there  had  been  selected 
and  located  under  282  patents,  22,892  acres  in  sixteen  counties,  and  23,036 
acres  unpatented,  making  a  total  of  45,928  acres. 

V. — SALINE   LANDS. 

By  act  of  Congress,  approved  March  3,  18-15,  the  State  of  Iowa  was 
granted  the  use  of  the  salt  springs  within  her  limits,  not  exceeding  twelve. 
By  a  subsequent  act,  approved  May  27,  1852,  Congress  granted  the  springs 
to  the  State  in  fee  simple,  together  with  six  sections  of  land  contiguous  to  each, 
to  be  disposed  of  as  the  Legislature  might  direct.  In  1861,  the  proceeds  of 
these  lands  then  to  be  sold  were  constituted  a  fund  for  founding  and  support- 
ing a  lunatic  asylum,  but  no  sales  Avere  made.  In  1856,  the  proceeds  of  the 
saline  lands  were  appropriated  to  the  Insane  Asylum,  repealed  in  1858.  In 
1860,  the  saline  lands  and  funds  were  made  a  part  of  the  permanent  fund  of 
the  State  University.  Tliese  lands  were  located  in  Appanoose,  Davis,  Decatur, 
Lucas,  Monroe,  Van  Buren  and  Wayne  Counties. 

VI. — THE   DES   MOINES   RIVER   GRANT. 

By  act  of  Congress,  approved  August  8,  1846,  a  grant  of  land  was  made 
fertile  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  Des  Moines  River,  as  follows: 

Beit  enacted bi/  the  Senate  and  flotise  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America  in 
Congress  assembled.  That  there  be.  and  hereby  is,  granted  to  said  Territory  of  Iowa,  for  the 
purpose  of  aiding  said  Torritoi-y  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the  Des  Moines  River  from  its 
mouth  to  the  Raccoon  Fork  (so  called)  in  said  Territory,  one  equal  moiety,  in  alternate  sections, 
of  the  public  lands  (^remaining  unsold  and  not  otherwise  disposed  of.  incumbered  or  appropri- 
ated\  in  a  strip  tive  miles  in  width  on  each  side  of  said  I'iver.  to  be  selected  within  said  Terri- 
tory by  an  agent  or  agents  to  be  appointed  by  the  Grovernor  thereof,  subject  to  the  approval  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  lands  hereby  granted  shall  not  be  conveyed 
or  disposed  of  by  said  Territory,  nor  by  any  State  to  be  formed  out  of  the  same,  except  as  said 
improvement  shall  progress;  that  is,  the  said  Territory  or  State  may  sell  so  much  of  said  lands 
as  shall  produce  the  sum  of  thirty  thousat^d  dollars,  and  then  the  sales  shall  cease  until  the  Gov- 
ernor of  said  Territory  or  State  shall  certify  the  fact  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  that 
one-half  of  said  sum  lias  been   expended   upon  said  improvements,  when  the   said   Territoi-y  or 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.      '  207 

State  may  sell  and  convey  a  quantity  of  the  residue  of  said  lands  sufficient  to  replace  the  amount 
expended,  and  thus  the  sales  shall  progress  as  the  proceeds  thereof  shall  be  expended,  and  the 
fact  of  such  expenditure  shall  be  certified  as  aforesaid. 

Sec.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  River  Des  Moines  shall  be  and  forever 
remain  a  public  highway  for  the  use  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  free  from  any  toll 
or  other  charge  whatever,  for  any  property  of  the  United  States  or  persons  in  their  service 
passing  through  or  along  the  same  :  Provided  alwai/n,  That  it  shall  not  be  competent  for  the  said 
Territory  or  future  State  of  Iowa  to  dispose  of  said  lands,  or  any  of  them,  at  a  price  lower  than, 
for  the  time  being,  shall  be  the  minimum  price  of  other  public  lands. 

Sec.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  whenever  the  Territory  of  Iowa  shall  be  admitted 
into  the  Union  as  a  State,  the  lands  hereby  granted  for  the  above  purpose  shall  be  aud  become 
the  property  of  said  State  for  the  purpose  contemplated  in  this  act,  and  for  no  other :  Provided 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Iowa  shall  accept  the  said  grant  for  the  said  purpose."  Approved 
Aug.  8,  184G. 

By  joint  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Iowa,  approved  January  9, 
1847,  the  grant  was  accepted  for  the  purpose  specified.  By  another  act,  ap- 
proved February  24,  1847,  entited  "An  act  creating  the  Board  of  Public 
Works,  and  providing  for  the  improvement  of  the  Des  Moines  River,"  the 
Legislature  provided  for  a  Board  consisting  of  a  President,  Secretary  and 
Treasurer,  to  be  elected  by  the  people.  This  Board  was  elected  August  2, 
1847,  and  was  organized  on  the  22d  of  September  following.  The  same  act 
defined  the  nature  of  the  improvement  to  be  made,  and  provided  that  the  work 
should  be  paid  for  from  the  funds  to  be  derived  from  the  sale  of  lands  to  be 
sold  by  the  Board. 

Agents  appointed  by  the  Governor  selected  the  sections  designated  by  "odd 
numbers"  throughout  the  w^hole  extent  of  the  grant,  and  this  selection  Avas  ap- 
proved by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  But  there  was  a  conflict  of  opinion 
as  to  the  extent  of  the  grant.  It  was  held  by  some  that  it  extended  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Des  Moines  only  to  the  Raccoon  Forks ;  others  held,  as  the 
agents  to  make  selection  evidently  did,  that  it  extended  from  the  mouth  to  the 
head  waters  of  the  river.  Richard  M.  Young,  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Office,  on  the  23d  of  February,  1848,  construed  the  grant  to  mean  that 
"  the  State  is  entitled  to  the  alternate  sections  within  five  miles  of  the  Des 
Moines  River,  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  that  river  within  the  limits  of 
Iowa."  Under  this  construction,  the  alternate  sections  above  the  Raccoon 
Forks  would,  of  course,  belong  to  the  State;  but  on  the  19th  of  June,  1848, 
some  of  these  lands  were,  by  proclamation,  thrown  into  market.  On  the  18th 
of  September,  the  Board  of  Public  Works  filed  a  remonstrance  with  the  Com- 
missioner of  the  General  Land  Office.  The  Board  also  sent  in  a  protest  to  the 
State  Land  Office,  at  which  the  sale  was  ordered  to  take  place.  On  the  8th  of 
January,  1849,  the  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress  from  Iowa  also 
protested  against  the  sale,  in  a  communication  to  Hon.  Robert  J.  Walker,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury,  to  which  the  Secretary  replied,  concurring  in  the 
opinion  that  the  grant  extended  the  whole  length  of  the  Des  Moines  River  in 
Iowa. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  1849,  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office 
directed  the  Register  and  Receiver  of  the  Land  Office  at  Iowa  City  "  to  with- 
hold from  sale  all  lands  situated  in  the  odd  numbered  sections  within  five  miles 
on  each  side  of  the  Des  Moines  River  above  the  Raccoon  Forks."  March  13, 
1850,  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  submitted  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior  a  list  "showing  the  tracts  falling  within  the  limits  of  the  Des 
Moines  River  grant,  above  the  Raccoon  Forks,  etc.,  under  the  decision  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  of  March  2,  1849,"  and  on  the  6th  of  April 
following,  Mr.  Ewing,  then  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  reversed  the  decision  of 
Secretary  Walker,  but  ordered  the  lands  to  be  withheld  from  sale  until  Con- 


208  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

gress  could  have  an  opportunity  to  pass  an  explanatory  act.  The  Iowa  author- 
ities appealed  from  this  decision  to  the  President  (Taylor),  who  referred  the 
matter  to  the  Attorney  General  (Mr.  Johnson).  On  the  19th  of  July,  Mr. 
Johnson  submitted  as  his  opinion,  that  by  the  terms  of  the  grant  itself,  it  ex- 
tended to  the  very  source  of  the  Des  Moines,  but  before  his  opinion  was  pub- 
lished President  Taylor  died.  When  Mr.  Tyler's  cabinet  was  formed,  the 
.  question  was  submitted  to  the  new  Attorney  General  (Mr.  Crittenden),  who,  on 
the  30th  of  June,  1851,  reported  that  in  his  opinion  the  grant  did  not  extend 
above  the  Raccoon  Forks.  Mr.  Stewart,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  concurred 
Avith  Mr.  Crittenden  at  first,  bat  subsequently  consented  to  lay  the  whole  sub- 
ject before  the  President  and  Cabinet,  who  decided  in  favor  of  the  State. 

October  29,  1851,  Mr.  Stewart  directed  the  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Office  to  "submit  for  his  approval  such  lists  as  had  been  prepared,  and  to 
proceed  to  report  for  like  approval  lists  of  the  alternate  sections  claimed  by  the 
State  of  Iowa  above  the  Raccoon  Forks,  as  far  as  tlie  surveys  have  progressed, 
or  may  hereafter  be  completed  and  returned."  And  on  the  following  day,  three 
lists  of  these  lands  were  prepared  in  the  General  Land  Office. 

The  lands  approved  and  certified  to  the  State  of  Iowa  under  this  grant,  and 
all  lying  above  the  Raccoon  Forks,  are  as  follows : 

By  Secretary  Stewart,  Oct.  30,  1851 81,707.93  acres. 

March  10,  1852 143.908.37     " 

By  Secretary  McLellan,  Dec.  17,  1853 33,142.43     " 

Dec.  SO,  1853 12,813.51      " 

Total > 271,572.24  acres. 

The  Commissioners  and  Register  of  the  Des  Moines  River  Improvement,  in 
their  report  to  the  Governor,  November  30,  1852,  estimates  the  total  amount  of 
lands  then  available  for  the  work,  including  those  in  possession  of  the  State  and 
those  to  be  surveyed  and  approved,  at  nearly  a  million  acres.  The  indebtedness 
then  standing  against  the  fund  was  about  §108,000,  and  the  Commissioners 
estimated  the  work  to  be  done  would  cost  about  $1,200,000. 

January  19,  1853,  the  Legislature  authorized  the  Commissioners  to  sell 
"  any  or  all  the  lands  which  have  or  may  hereafter  be  granted,  for  not  less  than 
11,300,000." 

On  the  24th  of  January,  1853,  the  General  Assembly  provided  for  the  elec- 
tion of  a  Commissioner  by  the  people,  and  appointed  two  Assistant  Commission- 
ers, with  authority  to  make  a  contract,  selling  the  lands  of  the  Improvement 
for  $1,300,000.  This  new  Board  made  a  contract,  June  9,  1855,  with  the  Des 
Moines  Navigation  &  Railroad  Company,  agreeing  to  sell  all  the  lands  donated 
to  the  State  hj  Act  of  Congress  of  August  8,  1846,  which  the  State  had  not 
sold  prior  to  December  23,  1853,  for  $1,300,000,  to  be  expended  on  the  im- 
provement of  the  river,  and  in  paying  the  indebtedness  then  due.  This  con- 
tract was  duly  reported  to  the  Governor  and  General  Assembly. 

By  an  act  approved  January  25,  1855,  the  Commissioner  and  Register  of 
the  Des  INIoines  River  Improvement  were  authorized  to  negotiate  with  the  Des 
Moines  Navigation  &  Railroad  Company  for  the  purchase  of  lands  in  Webster 
County  which  had  been  sold  by  the  School  Fund  Commissioner  as  school  lands, 
but  which  had  been  certified  to  the  State  as  Des  Moines  River  lands,  and  had, 
therefore,  become  the  property  of  the  Company,  under  the  provisions  of  its 
contract  with  the  State. 

March  21,  1856,  the  old  question  of  the  extent  of  the  grant  was  again  raised 
and  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  decided  th>^    it  was  limited  to 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  209 

the  Raccoon  Fork.  Appeal  was  made  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  by 
him  the  matter  was  referred  to  the  Attorney  General,  who  decided  that  the  grant 
extended  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  State;  the  State  relinquished  its 
claim  to  lands  lying  along  the  river  in  Minnesota,  and  the  vexed  question  was 
supposed  to  be  finally  settled. 

The  land  which  had  been  certified,  as  well  as  those  extending  to  the  north- 
ern boundary  within  the  limits  of  the  grant,  were  reserved  from  pre-emption 
and  sale  by  the  General  Land  Commissioner,  to  satisfy  the  grant  of  August  8, 
1846,  and  they  were  treated  as  having  passed  to  the  State,  which  from  time  to 
time  sold  portions  of  them  prior  to  their  final  transfer  to  the  Des  Moines  Navi- 
igation  &  Railroad  Company,  applying  the  proceeds  thereof  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  river  in  compliance  with  the  terms  of  the  grant.  Prior  to  the  final 
sale  to  the  Company,  June  9,  1854,  the  State  had  sold  about  327,000  acres,  of 
which  amount  58,830  acres  were  located  above  the  Raccoon  Fork.  The  last 
certificate  of  the  General  Land  Office  bears  date  December  30, 1853. 

After  June  9th,  1854,  the  Des  Moines  Navigation  &  Railroad  Company 
carried  on  the  work  under  its  contract  with  the  State.  As  the  improvement 
progressed,  the  State,  from  time  to  time,  by  its  authorized  officers,  issued  to  the 
Company,  in  payment  for  said  work,  certificates  for  lands.  But  the  General 
Land  Office  ceased  to  certify  lands  under  the  grant  of  1846.  The  State 
had  made  no  other  provision  for  paying  for  the  improvements,  and  disagree- 
ments and  misunderstanding  arose  between  the  State  authorities  and  the 
Company. 

March  22,  1858,  a  joint  resolution  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  submitting 
a  proposition  for  final  settlement  to  the  Company,  which  was  accepted.  The  Com- 
pany paid  to  the  State  |20,000  in  cash,  and  released  and  conveyed  the  dredge  boat 
and  materials  named  in  the  resolution ;  and  the  State,  on  the  3d  of  May,  1858, 
executed  to  the  Des  Moines  Navigation  &  Railroad  Company  fourteen  deeds 
or  patents  to  the  lands,  amounting  to  256,703.64  acres.  These  deeds  were 
intended  to  convey  all  the  lands  of  this  grant  certified  to  the  State  by  the  Gen- 
eral Government  not  previously  sold ;  but,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  covering  any 
tract  or  parcel  that  might  have  been  omitted,  the  State  made  another  deed  of 
conveyance  on  the  18th  day  of  May,  1858.  These  fifteen  deeds,  it  is  claimed, 
by  the  Company,  convey  266,108  acres,  of  which  about  53,367  are  below  the 
Raccoon  Fork,  and  the  balance,  212,741  acres,  are  above  that  point. 

Besides  the  lands  deeded  to  the  Company,  the  State  had  deeded  to  individual 
purchasers  58,830  acres  above  the  Raccoon  Fork,  making  an  aggregate  of  271,- 
571  acres,  deeded  above  the  Fork,  all  of  which  had  been  certified  to  the  State 
by  the  Federal  Government. 

By  act  approved  March  28,  1858,  the  Legislature  donated  the  remainder  of 
the  grant  to  the  Keokuk,  Fort  Des  Moines  &  Minnesota  Railroad  Company, 
upon  condition  that  said  Company  assumed  all  liabilities  resulting  from  the  Des 
Moines  River  improvement  operations,  reserving  50,000  acres  of  the  land  in 
security  for  the  payment  thereof,  and  for  the  completion  of  the  locks  and  dams 
at  Bentonsport,  Croton,  Keosauqua  and  Plymouth.  For  every  three  thousand 
.dollars'  worth  of  work  done  on  the  locks  and  dams,  and  for  every  three  thousand 
dollars  paid  by  the  Company  of  the  liabilities  above  mentioned,  the  Register  of 
the  State  Land  Office  was  instructed  to  certify  to  the  Company  1,000  acres  of 
the  50,000  acres  reserved  for  these  purposes.  Up  to  1865,  there  had  been  pre- 
sented by  the  Company,  under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  1858,  and  allowed, 
claims  amounting  to  |109,579.37,  about  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  which  had 
been  settled. 


210  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

After  the  passage  of  the  Act  above  noticed^  the  question  of  the  extent  of  the 
original  grant  was  again  mooted,  and  at  the  December  Term  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  in  1859-60,  a  decision  was  rendered  declaring  that  the 
grant  did  not  extend  above  Raccoon  Fork,  and  that  all  certificates  of  land  above 
the  Fork  had  been  issued  without  authority  of  law  and  were,  therefore,  void 
(see  23  How.,  m). 

The  State  of  Iowa  had  disposed  of  a  large  amount  of  land  without  authority, 
according  to  this  decision,  and  appeal  was  made  to  Congress  for  relief,  which 
was  granted  on  the  3d  day  of  March,  1861,  in  a  joint  resolution  relinquishing 
to  the  State  all  the  title  which  the  United  States  then  still  retained  in  the  tracts 
of  land  along  the  Des  Moines  River  above  Raccoon  Fork,  that  had  been  im- 
properly certified  to  the  State  by  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  and  which  is 
now  held  by  bona  fide  purchasers  under  the  State  of  Iowa. 

In  confirmation  of  this  relinquishment,  by  act  approved  July  12,  1862, 
Congress  enacted  : 

That  the  grant  of  lands  to  the  then  Territory  of  Iowa  for  the  improvement  of  the  Des  Moines 
River,  made  bj  the  act  of  August  8,  1846,  is  hereby  extended  so  as  to  include  the  alternate  sec- 
tions (designated  by  odd  numbers)  lying  within  five  miles  of  said  river,  between  the  Raccoon 
Fork  and  the  northern  boundary  of  said  State ;  such  lands  are  to  be  held  and  applied  in  accord- 
ance with  the  provisions  of  the  original  grant,  except  that  the  consent  of  Congress  is  hereby  given 
to  the  application  of  a  portion  thereof  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  the  Keokuk,  Fort  Des  Moines 
&  Minnesota  Railroad,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  State  of  Iowa,  approved  March  22,  1858.  And  if  any  of  the  said  lands  shall  have  been  sold 
-or  otherwise  disposed  of  by  the  United  States  before  the  passage  of  this  act,  except  those  released 
by  the  United  States  to  the  grantees  of  the  State  of  Iowa,  under  joint  resolution  of  March  3, 
1861,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  is  hereby  directed  to  set  apart  an  equal  amount  of  lands  within 
said  State  to  be  certified  in  lieu  thereof;  Provided,  that  if  the  State  shall  have  sold  and  conveyed 
any  portion  of  the  lands  lying  within  the  limits  of  the  grant  the  title  of  which  has  proved  invalid, 
any  lands  which  shall  be  certified  to  said  State  in  lieu  thereof  by  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  this 
act,  shall  inure  to  and  be  held  as  a  trust  fund  for  the  benefit  of  the  person  or  persons,  respect- 
ively, whose  titles  shall  have  failed  as  aforesaid. 

The  grant  of  lands  by  the  above  act  of  Congress  was  accepted  by  a  joint 
resolution  of  the  General  Assembly,  September  11,  1862,  in  extra  session.  On 
the  same  day,  the  Governor  was  authorized  to  appoint  one  or  more  Commis- 
sioners to  select  the  lands  in  accordance  with  the  grant.  These  Commissioners 
were  instructed  to  report  their  selections  to  the  Registrar  of  the  State  Land 
Ofiice.  The  lands  so  selected  were  to  be  held  for  the  purposes  of  the  grant,  and 
were  not  to  be  disposed  of  until  further  legislation  should  be  had.  D.  W.  Kil- 
burne,  of  Lee  County,  Was  appointed  Commissioner,  and,  on  the  25th  day  of 
April,  1864,  the  General  Land  Ofiicer  authorized  the  selection  of  300,000  acres 
from  the  vacant  public  lands  as  a  part  of  the  grant  of  July  12,  1862,  and  the 
selections  were  made  in  the  Fort  Dodge  and  Sioux  City  Land  Districts. 

Many  difficulties,  controversies  and  conflicts,  in  relation  to  claims  and  titles, 
grew  out  of  this  grant,  and  these  difficulties  were  enhanced  by  the  uncertainty 
of  its  limits  until  the  act  of  Congress  of  July,  1862.  But  the  General  Assem- 
bly sought,  by  wise  and  appropriate  legislation,  to  protect  the  integrity  of  titles 
derived  from  the  State.  Especially  was  the  determination  to  protect  the  actual 
settlers,  who  had  paid  their  money  and  made  improvements  prior  to  the  final 
settlement  of  the  limits  of  the  grant  by  Congress. 

VII. — THE   DES   MOINES    RIVER    SCHOOL   LANDS. 

These  lands  constituted  a  part  of  the  500,000  acre  grant  made  by  Congress 
in  1841;  including  28,378.46  acres  in  Webster  County,  selected  by  the  Agent  of 
the  State  under  that  grant,  and  approved  by  the  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Ofiice  February  20,  1851.      They  were  ordered  into  the  market  June  6, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  211 

1853,  by  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  who  authorized  John  Tol- 
man,  School  Fund  Commissioner  for  Webster  County,  to  sell  them  as  school 
lands.  Subsequently,  when  the  act  of  1846  was  construed  to  extend  the  Des 
Moines  River  grant  above  Raccoon  Fork,  it  was  held  that  the  odd  numbered 
sections  of  these  lands  within  five  miles  of  the  river  were  appropriated  by  that 
act,  and  on  the  30th  day  of  December,  1853,  12,813.51  acres  were  set  apart 
and  approved  to  the  State  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  as  a  part  of  the 
Des  Moines  River  grant.  January  6,  1854,  the  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Office  transmitted  to  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  a  certified 
copy  of  the  lists  of  these  lands,  indorsed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 
Prior  to  this  action  of  the  Department,  however,  Mr.  Tolman  had  sold  to  indi- 
vidual purchasers  3,194.28  acres  as  school  lands,  and  their  titles  were,  of  course, 
killed.  For  their  relief,  an  act,  approved  April  2,  1860,  provided  that,  upon 
application  and  proper  showing,  these  purchasers  should  be  entitled  to  draw 
from  the  State  Treasury  the  amount  they  had  paid,  with  10  per  cent,  interest, 
on  the  contract  to  purchase  made  with  Mr.  Tolman.  Under  this  act,  five  appli- 
cations were  made  prior  to  1864,  and  the  applicants  received,  in  the  a^ffreffate, 
$949.53.  ,.88, 

By  an  act  approved  April  7,  1862,  the  Governor  was  forbidden  to  issue  to 
the  Dubuque  &  Sioux  City  Railroad  Company  any  certificate  of  the  completion 
of  any  part  of  said  road,  or  any  conveyance  of  lands,  until  the  company  should 
execute  and  file,  in  the  State  Land  Office,  a  release  of  its  claim — first,  to  cer- 
tain swamp  lands ;  second,  to  the  Des  Moines  River  Lands  sold  by  Tolman ; 
third,  to  certain  other  river  lands.  That  act  provided  that  "the  said  company 
shall  transfer  their  interest  in  those  tracts  of  land  in  Webster  and  Hamilton 
Counties  heretofore  sold  by  John  Tolman,  School  Fund  Commissioner,  to  the 
Register  of  the  State  Land  Office  in  trust,  to  enable  said  Register  to  carry  out 
and  perform  said  contracts  in  all  cases  when  he  is  called  upon  by  the  parties 
interested  to  do  so,  before  the  1st  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1864. 

The  company  filed  its  release  to  the  Tolman  lands,  in  the  Land  Office,  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1864,  at  the  same  time  entered  its  protest  that  it  had  no  claim  upon 
them,  never  had  pretended  to  have,  and  had  never  sought  to  claim  them.  The 
Register  of  the  State  Land  Office,  under  the  advice  of  the  Attorney  General, 
decided  that  patents  would  be  issued  to  the  Tolman  purchasers  in  all  cases 
where  contracts  had  been  made  prior  to  December  23,  1853,  and  remaining 
uncanceled  under  the  act  of  1860.  But  before  any  were  issued,  on  the  27th  of 
August,  1864,  the  Des  Moines  Navigation  &  Railroad  Company  commenced  a 
suit  in  chancery,  in  the  District  Court  of  Polk  County,  to  enjoin  the  issue  of 
such  patents.  On  the  30th  of  August,  an  ex  lo arte  injunction  was  issued.  In 
January,  1868,  Mr.  J.  A.  Harvey,  Register  of  the  Land  Office,  filed  in  the 
court  an  elaborate  answer  to  plaintiffs'  petition,  denying  that  the  company  had 
any  right  to  or  title  in  the  lands.  Mr.  Plarvey's  successor,  Mr.  C.  C.  Carpen- 
ter, filed  a  still  more  exhaustive  answer  February  10,  1868.  August  3,  1868, 
the  District  Court  dissolved  the  injunction.  The  company  appealed  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  where  the  decision  of  the  lower  court  was  affirmed  in  December, 
1869. 

VIII. — SWAMP   LAND   GRANT. 

By  an  act  of  Congress,  approved  March  28,  1850,  to  enable  Arkansas  and 
other  States  to  reclaim  swampy  lands  within  their  limits,  granted  all  the  swamp 
and  overflowed  lands  remaining  unsold  within  their  respective  limits  to  the 
several  States.     Although  the  total  amount  claimed  by  Iowa  under  this  act 


212  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

does  not  exceed  4,000,000  acres,  it  has,  like  the  Des  Moines  River  and  some 
of"  the  land  grants,  cost  the  State  considerable  trouble  and  expense,  and  required 
a  deal  of  legislation.  The  State  expended  large  sums  of  money  in  making  the 
selections,  securing  proofs,  etc.,  but  the  General  Government  appeared  to  be 
laboring  under  the  impression  that  Iowa  was  not  acting  in  good  faith ;  that  she 
had  selected  a  large  amount  of  lands  under  the  swamp  land  grant,  transferred 
her  interest  to  counties,  and  counties  to  private  speculators,  and  the  General 
Land  Office  permitted  contests  as  to  the  character  of  the  lands  already  selected 
by  the  Agents  of  the  State  as  "swamp  lands."  Congress,  by  joint  resolution 
Dec.  18,  1856,  and  by  act  March  3,  1857,  saved  the  State  from  the  fatal  result 
of  this  ruinous  policy.  Many  of  these  lands  were  selected  in  1854  and  1855, 
immediately  after  several  remarkably  wet  seasons,  and  it  was  but  natural  that 
some  portions  of  the  selections  would  not  appear  swampy  after  a  few  dry  seasons. 
Some  time  after  these  first  selections  were  made,  persons  desired  to  enter 
parcels  of  the  so-called  swamp  lands  and  offering  to  prove  them  to  be  dry.  In 
such  cases  the  General  Land  Office  ordered  hearing  before  the  local  land  ofiicers, 
and  if  they  decided  the  land  to  be  dry,  it  was  permitted  to  be  entered  and  the 
claim  of  the  State  rejected.  Speculators  took  advantage  of  this.  Affidavits 
were  bought  of  irresponsible  and  reckless  men,  who,  for  a  few  dollars,  would 
confidently  testify  to  the  character  of  lands  they  never  saw.  These  applica- 
tions multiplied  until  they  covered  3,000,000  acres.  It  was  necessary  that 
Congress  should  confirm  all  these  selections  to  the  State,  that  this  gigantic 
scheme  of  fraud  and  plunder  might  be  stopped.  The  act  of  Congress  of 
March  3,  1857,  was  designed  to  accomplish  this  purpose.  But  the  Commis- 
sioner of  the  General  Land  Office  held  that  it  was  only  a  qualified  confirma- 
tion, and  under  this  construction  sought  to  sustain  the  action  of  the  Department 
in  rejecting  the  claim  of  the  State,  and  certifying  them  under  act  of  May  15, 
1856,  under  wdiich  the  railroad  companies  claimed  all  swamp  land  in  odd  num- 
bered sections  within  the  limits  of  their  respective  roads.  This  action  led  to 
serious  complications.  When  the  railroad  grant  W'as  made,  it  w^as  not  intended 
nor  was  it  understood  that  it  included  any  of  the  swamp  lands.  These  were 
already  disposed  of  by  previous  grant.  Nor  did  the  companies  expect  to 
receive  any  of  them,  but  under  the  decisions  of  the  Department  adverse  to  the 
State  the  way  was  opened,  and  they  W'cre  not  slow  to  enter  their  claims.  March 
4,  1862,  the  Attorney  General  of  the  State  submitted  to  the  General  Assembly 
an  opinion  that  the  railroad  companies  were  not  entitled  even  to  contest  the 
right  of  the  State  to  these  lands,  under  the  swamp  land  grant.  A  letter  from 
the  Acting  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  expressed  the  same 
opinion,  and  the  General  Assembly  by  joint  resolution,  approved  April  7,  1862, 
expressly  repudiated  the  acts  of  the  railroad  companies,  and  disclaimed  any 
intention  to  claim  these  lands  under  any  other  than  the  act  of  Congress  of 
Sept.  28,  1850.  A  great  deal  of  legislation  has  been  found  necessary  in  rela- 
tion to  these  swamp  lands. 

IX. — THE    RAILKOAD    GRANT. 

One  of  the  most  important  grants  of  public  lands  to  Iowa  for  purposes  of 
internal  improvement  was  that  known  as  the  "Railroad  Grant,"  by  act  of 
Congress  approved  May  15,  1856.  This  act  granted  to  the  State  of  Iowa,  for 
the  purpose  of  aiding  in  the  construction  of  railroads  from  Burlington,  on  the 
Mississippi  River,  to  a  point  on  the  Missoitri  River,  near  the  mouth  of  Platte 
River ;  from  the  city  of  Davenport,  via  Iowa  City  and  Fort  Des  Moines  to 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  213 

Council  Bluffs ;  from  Lyons  City  northwesterly  to  a  point  of  intersection  with 
the  main  line  of  the  Iowa  Central  Air  Line  Railroad,  near  Maquoketa ;  thence 
on  said  main  line,  running  as  near  as  practicable  to  the  Forty-second  Parallel ; 
across  the  said  State  of  Iowa  to  the  Missouri  River ;  from  the  city  of  Dubuque 
to  a  point  on  the  Missouri  River,  near  Sioux  City,  with  a  branch  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Tete  des  Morts,  to  the  nearest  point  on  said  road,  to  be  com- 
pleted as  soon  as  the  main  road  is  completed  to  that  point,  every  alternate  section 
of  land,  designated  by  odd  numbers,  for  six  sections  in  width  on  each  side  of 
said  roads.  It  was  also  provided  that  if  it  should  appear,  when  the  lines  of  those 
roads  were  definitely  fixed,  that  the  United  States  had  sold,  or  right  of  pre- 
emption had  attached  to  any  portion  of  said  land,  the  State  was  authorized  to 
select  a  quantity  equal  thereto,  in  alternate  sections,  or  parts  of  sections,  within 
fifteen  miles  of  the  lines  so  located.  The  lands  remaining  to  the  United  States 
within  six  miles  on  each  side  of  said  roads  were  not  to  be  sold  for  less  than  the 
double  minimum  price  of  the  public  lands  when  sold,  nor  w^ere  any  of  said  lands 
to  become  subject  to  private  entry  until  they  had  been  first  offered  at  public 
sale  at  the  increased  price. 

Section  4  of  the  act  provided  that  the  lands  granted  to  said  State  shall  be 
disposed  of  by  said  State  only  in  the  manner  following,  that  is  to  say :  that  a, 
quantity  of  land  not  exceeding  one  hundred  and  twenty  sections  for  each  of  said 
roads,  and  included  within  a  continuous  length  of  twenty  miles  of  each  of  said 
roads,  may  be  sold ;  and  when  the  Governor  of  said  State  shall  certify  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  that  any  twenty  continuous  miles  of  any  of  said  roads 
is  completed,  then  another  quantity  of  land  hereby  granted,  not  to  exceed  one 
hundred  and  twenty  sections  for  each  of  said  roads  having  twenty  continuous 
miles  completed  as  aforesaid,  and  included  Avithin  a  continuous  length  of  tAventy 
miles  of  each  of  such  roads,  may  be  sold ;  and  so  from  time  to  time  until  said 
roads  are  completed,  and  if  any  of  said  roads  are  not  completed  within  ten 
years,  no  further  sale  shall  be  made,  and  the  lands  unsold  shall  revert  to  the 
United  States." 

At  a  special  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Iowa,  by  act  approved  July 
14,  1856,  the  grant  was  accepted  and  the  lands  were  granted  by  the  State  to 
the  several  railroad  companies  named,  provided  that  the  lines  of  their  respective 
roads  should  be  definitely  fixed  and  located  before  April  1,  1857 ;  and  pro- 
vided further,  that  if  either  of  said  companies  should  fail  to  have  seventy-five 
miles  of  road  completed  and  equipped  by  the  1st  day  of  December,  1859,  and 
its  entire  road  completed  by  December  1,  1865,  it  should  be  competent  for  the 
State  of  loAva  to  resume  all  rights  to  lands  remaining  undisposed  of  by  the 
company  so  failing. 

The  railroad  companies,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Iowa  Central  Air 
Line,  accepted  the  several  grants  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  above 
act,  located  their  respective  roads  and  selected  their  lands.  The  grant  to  the 
Iowa  Central  Avas  again  granted  to  the  Cedar  Rapids  &  Missouri  River  Railroad 
Company,  which  accepted  them. 

By  act,  approved  April  7,  1862,  the  Dubuque  &  Sioux  City  Railroad  Com- 
pany Avas  required  to  execute  a  release  to  the  State  of  certain  swamp  and  school 
lands,  included  within  the  limits  of  its  grant,  in  compensation  for  an  extension 
of  the  time  fixed  for  the  completion  of  its  road. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  act  of  Congress  does  not  reveal  any  special 
reference  to  railroad  companies.  The  lands  were  granted  to  the  State,  and  the 
act  evidently  contemplate  the  sale  of  them  hi/  the  State,  and  the  appropriation 
of  the  proceeds  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  certain  lines  of  railroad  Avithin  its. 


214  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

limits.      Section  4  of  the  act  clearly  defines  the  authority  of  the  State  in  dis- 
posing of  the  lands. 

Lists  of  all  the  lands  embraced  by  the  grant  were  made,  and  certified  to  the 
State  hj  the  proper  authorities.  Under  an  act  of  Congress  approved  August  3, 
lb54,  entitled  "An  act  to  vest  in  the  several  States  and  Territories  the  title  in 
fee  of  the  lands  whieh  have  been  or  may  he  cert/tied  to  them,''  these  certified  lists, 
the  originals  of  "which  are  filed  in  the  General  Land  Office,  conveyed  to  the  State 
''the  fee  simple  title  to  all  the  lands  embraced  in  such  lists  that  are  of  the  char- 
acter contemplated  "  by  the  terms  of  the  act  making  the  grant,  and  "intended 
to  be  granted  thereby ;  but  where  lands  embraced  in  such  lists  are  not  of  the 
character  embraced  by  such  act  of  Congress,  and  were  not  intended  to  be  granted 
thereby,  said  lists,  so  iar  as  these  lands  are  concerned,  shall  be  perfectly  null 
and  void;  and  no  right,  title,  claim  or  interest  shall  be  conveyed  thereby.'" 
Those  certified  lists  made  under  the  act  of  May  15,  1856,  were  forty-three  in 
number,  viz.:  For  the  Burlington  &  JNIissouri  River  Railroad,  nine ;  for  the 
jNLssissippi  &  INIissouri  Railroad,  11 ;  for  the  Iowa  Central  Air  Line,  thirteen ; 
and  for  the  Dubuque  l^^  Sioux  City  Railroad,  ten.  The  lands  thus  approved  to 
the  State  were  as  follows : 

Burlington  &  Missouri  Eiver  E.  E 287,0^5.34  acres. 

Mississippi  &  jMissouri  Eiver  E.  E 774,674.36     " 

Cedar  Eapids  &  Missouri  Eiver  R.  E 775,454.19     " 

Dubuque  &  Sioux  City  E.  R 1,226,558.32     " 

A  portion  of  these  had  been  selected  as  swamp  lands  by  the  State,  under 
the  act  of  September  :28,  1850,  and  these,  by  the  terms  of  the  act  of  August  3, 
1854,  could  not  be  turned  over  to  the  railroads  unless  the  claim  of  the  State  to 
them  as  swamp  was  first  rejected.  It  was  not  possible  to  determine  from  the 
records  of  the  State  Land  Office  the  extent  of  the  conflicting  claims  arising  under 
the  two  grants,  as  copies  of  the  swamp  land  selections  in  some  of  the  coimties 
Avere  not  tiled  of  record.  The  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  however, 
prepared  lists  of  the  lands  claimed  by  the  State  as  swamp  under  act  of  September 
28,  1850,  and  also  claimed  by  the  railroad  companies  under  act  of  May  15, 
1856,  amounting  to  553,293.33  acres,  the  claim  to  which  as  swamp  had  been 
rejected  by  the  Department.  These  were  consequently  certified  to  the  State  as 
railroad  lands.  There  was  no  mode  other  than  the  act  of  July,  1856,  prescribed 
for  transferring  the  title  to  these  lands  from  the  State  to  the  companies.  The 
courts  had  decided  that,  for  the  purposes  of  the  grant,  the  lands  belonged  to  the 
State,  and  to  her  the  companies  should  look  for  their  titles.  It  was  generally 
accepted  that  the  act  of  the  Legislature  of  July,  1856,  was  all  that  was  neces- 
sary to  complete  the  transfer  of  title.  It  was  assumed  that  all  the  rights  and 
powers  conferred  upon  the  State  by  the  act  of  Congress  of  May  14,  1856,  were 
by  the  act  of  the  General  Assembly  transferred  to  the  companies :  in  other 
words,  that  it  was  designed  to  put  the  companies  in  the  place  of  the  State  as  the 
grantees  from  Congress — and,  therefore,  that  which  perfected  the  title  thereto 
to  the  State  perfected  the  title  to  the  companies  by  virtue  of  the  act  of  July, 
1856.  One  of  the  companies,  however,  the  Burlington  &  Missouri  River  Rail- 
road Company,  was  not  entirely  satisfied  with  this  construction.  Its  managers 
thought  that  some  further  and  specific  action  of  the  State  authorities  in  addition 
to  the  act  of  the  Legislature  was  necessary  to  complete  their  title.  This  induced 
Gov.  Lowe  to  attach  to  the  certified  lists  his  official  certificate,  imder  the  broad 
seal  of  the  State.  On  the  9th  of  November,  1859,  the  Governor  thus  certified 
to  them  (commencing  at  the  Missouri  River)  187,207.44  acres,  and  December 
27th,  43,775.70  acres,  an  ao;o;reirate  of  231.073.14  acres.     These  were  the  only 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  215 

lands  under  the  grant  that  were  certified  by  the  State  authorities  with  anj 
design  of  perfecting  the  title  already  vested  in  the  company  by  the  act  of  July, 
1856.  The  lists  which  were  afterward  furnished  to  the  company  were  simply 
certified  by  the  Governor  as  being  correct  copies  of  the  lists  received  by  the 
State  from  the  United  States  General  Land  Office.  These  subsequent  lists 
embraced  lands  that  had  been  claimed  by  the  State  under  the  Swamp  Land 
Grant. 

It  was  urged  against  the  claim  of  the  Companies  that  the  effect  of  the  act 
of  the  Legislature  was  simply  to  substitute  them  for  the  State  as  parties  to  the 
grant.  1st.  That  the  lands  were  granted  to  the  State  to  be  held  in  trust  for  the 
accomplishment  of  a  specific  purpose,  and  therefore  the  State  could  not  part 
with  the  title  until  that  purpose  should  have  been  accomplished.  2d.  That  it 
was  not  the  intention  of  the  act  of  July  14, 1856,  to  deprive  the  State  of  the  con- 
trol of  the  lands,  but  on  the  contrary  that  she  should  retain  supervision  of  them 
and  the  right  to  withdraw  all  rights  and  powers  and  resume  the  title  condition- 
ally conferred  by  that  act  upon  the  companies  in  the  event  of  their  failure  to 
complete  their  part  of  the  contract.  3d.  That  the  certified  lists  from  the  Gen- 
eral Land  Office  vested  the  title  in  the  State  only  by  virtue  of  the  act  of  Con- 
gress approved  August  3,  1854.  The  State  Land  Office  held  that  the  proper 
construction  of  the  act  of  July  14,  1856,  when  accepted  by  the  companies,  was 
that  it  became  a  conditional  contract  that  might  ripen  into  a  positive  sale  of  the 
lands  as  from  time  to  time  the  work  should  progress,  and  as  the  State  thereby 
became  authorized  by  the  express  terms  of  the  grant  to  sell  them. 

This  appears  to  have  been  the  correct  construction  of  the  act,  but  by  a  sub- 
sequent act  of  Congress,  approved  June  2,  1864,  amending  the  act  of  1856,  the 
terms  of  the  grant  were  changed,  and  numerous  controversies  arose  between  the 
companies  and  the  State. 

The  ostensible  purpose  of  this  additional  act  was  to  allow  the  Davenport  k 
Council  Bluffs  Railroad  "to  modify  or  change  the  location  of  the  uncompleted 
portion  of  its  line,"  to  run  through  the  town  of  NeAvton,  Jasper  County,  or  as 
nearly  as  practicable  to  that  point.  The  original  grant  had  been  made  to  the 
State  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  railroads  within  its  limits  and  not  to  the  com- 
panies, but  Congress,  in  1864,  appears  to  have  been  utterly  ignorant  of  what 
had  been  done  under  the  act  of  1856,  or,  if  not,  to  have  utterly  disregarded  it. 
The  State  had  accepted  the  original  grant.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  had 
already  certified  to  the  State  all  the  lands  intended  to  be  included  in  the  grant 
within  fifteen  miles  of  the  lines  of  the  several  railroads.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  Section  4,  of  the  act  of  May  15,  1856,  specifies  the  manner  of  sale  of 
these  lands  from  time  to  time  as  work  on  the  railroads  should  progress,  and  alse 
provided  that  "if  any  of  said  roads  are  not  completed  within  ten  years,  no  fur- 
ther sale  shall  be  made,  and  the  lands  unsold  shall  revert  to  the  United  States.'* 
Having  vested  the  title  to  these  lands  in  trust,  in  the  State  of  Iowa,  it  is  plain 
that  until  the  expiration  of  the  ten  years  there  could  be  no  reversion,  and  the 
State,  not  the  United  States,  must  control  them  until  the  grant  should  expire 
by  limitation.  The  United  States  authorities  could  not  rightfully  require  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  certify  directly  to  the  companies  any  portion  of 
the  lands  already  certified  to  the  State.  And  yet  Congress,  by  its  act  of  June 
2, 1864,  provided  that  Avhenever  the  Davenport  &  Council  Bluffs  Railroad  Com- 
pany should  file  in  the  General  Land  Office  at  Washington  a  map  definitely 
showing  such  new  location,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  should  cause  to  be  cer- 
tified and  conveyed  to  said  Company,  from  time  to  time,  as  the  road  progressed, 
out  of  any  of  the  lands  belonging  to  the  United   States,  not  sold,  reserved,  or 


216  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

otherwise  disposed  of,  or  to  which  a  pre-emption  daim  or  right  of  homestead  had 
not  attached,  and  on  which  a  bona  fide  settlement  and  improvement  had  not 
been  made  under  color  of  title  derived  from  the  United  States  or  from  the  State 
of  Iowa,  within  six  miles  of  such  newly  located  line,  an  amount  of  land  per 
mile  equal  to  that  originally  authorized  to  be  granted  to  aid  in  the  construction 
of  said  road  by  the  act  to  which  this  was  an  amendment. 

The  term  "  out  of  any  lands  helonging  to  the  United  States,  not  sold,  re- 
sei-ved  or  otherwise  disposed  of,  etc.,"  w^ould  seem  to  indicate  that  Congress  did 
intend  to  grant  lands  already  granted,  but  when  it  declared  that  the  Company 
should  have  an  amount  per  mile  equal  to  that  originally  authorized  to  be  granted, 
it  is  plain  that  the  framers  of  the  bill  were  ignorant  of  the  real  terms  of  the 
original  grant,  or  that  they  designed  that  the  United  States  should  resume  the 
title  it  had  already  parted  with  two  years  before  the  lands  could  revert  to  the 
United  States  under  the  original  act,  which  was  not  repealed. 

A  similar  change  was  made  in  relation  to  the  Cedar  Rapids  &  Missouri 
Hailroad,  and  dictated  the  conveyance  of  lands  in  a  similar  manner. 

Like  provision  was  made  for  the  Dubuque  &  Sioux  City  Railroad,  and  the 
Company  was  permitted  to  change  the  location  of  its  line  between  Fort  Dodge 
and  Sioux  City,  so  as  to  secure  the  best  route  between  those  points ;  but  this 
change  of  location  was  not  to  impair  the  right  to  the  land  granted  in  the  orig- 
inal act,  nor  did  it  change  the  location  of  those  lands. 

By  the  same  act,  the  Mississippi  &  Missouri  Railroad  Company  was  author- 
ized to  transfer  and  assign  all  or  any  part  of  the  grant  to  any  other  company  or 
person,  "  if,  in  the  opinion  of  said  Company,  the  construction  of  said  railroad 
across  the  State  of  Iowa  would  be  thereby  sooner  and  more  satisfactorily  com- 
pleted ;  but  such  assignee  should  not  in  any  case  be  released  from  the  liabilities 
and  conditions  accompanying  this  grant,  nor  acquire  perfect  title  in  any  other 
manner  than  the  same  would  have  been  acquired  by  the  original  grantee." 

Still  further,  the  Burlington  &  INIissouri  River  Railroad  was  not  forgotten, 
and  was,  by  the  same  act,  empowered  to  receive  an  amount  of  land  per  mile 
equal  to  that  mentioned  in  the  original  act,  and  if  that  could  not  be  found  within 
the  limits  of  six  miles  from  the  line  of  said  road,  then  such  selection  might 
be  made  along  such  line  within  twenty  miles  thereof  out  of  any  public  lands 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  not  sold,  reserved  or  otherwise  disposed  of,  or 
to  which  a  pre-emption  claim  or  right  of  homestead  had  not  attached. 

Those  acts  of  Congress,  which  evidently  originated  in  the  ''lobby,"  occa- 
sioned much  controversy  and  trouble.  The  Department  of  the  Interior,  how- 
ever, recognizing  the  fact  that  when  the  Secretary  had  certified  the  lands  to  the 
State,  under  the  act  of  1856,  that  act  divested  the  United  States  of  title,  under 
the  vesting  act  of  August,  1854,  refused  to  review  its  action,  and  also  refused 
to  order  any  and  all  investigations  for  establishing  adverse  claims  (except  in 
pre-emption  cases),  on  the  ground  that  the  United  States  had  parted  with  the 
title,  and,  therefore,  could  exercise  no  control  over  the  land. 

May  12,  1864,  before  the  passage  of  the  amendatory  act  above  described. 
Congress  granted  to  the  State  of  Iowa,  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  a  railroad 
from  McGregor  to  Sioux  City,  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  McGregor  Western 
R/iilroad  Company,  every  alternate  section  of  land,  designated  by  odd  numbers, 
for  ten  sections  in  width  on  each  side  of  the  proposed  road,  reserving  the  right 
to  substitute  other  lands  whenever  it  was  found  that  the  grant  infringed  upon 
pre-empted  lands,  or  on  lands  that  had  been  reserved  or  disposed  of  for  any  other 
purpose.  In  such  cases,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  was  instructed  to  select,  in 
lieu,  lands  belonging  to  the  United  States  lying  nearest  to  the  limits  specified. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  217 

X. — AGRICULTURAL    COLLEGE   AND   FARM    LANDS. 

An  Agricultural  College  and  Model  Farm  was  established  by  act  of  the 
General  Assembly,  approved  March  22,  1858.  By  the  eleventh  section  of  the, 
act,  the  proceeds  of  the  five-section  grant  made  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in  the 
erection  of  public  buildings  was  appropriated,  subject  to  the  approval  of  Con- 
gress, together  with  all  lands  that  Congress  might  thereafter  grant  to  the  State 
for  the  purpose,  for  the  benefit  of  the  institution.  On  the  23d  of  March,  by 
joint  resolution,  the  Legislature  asked  the  consent  of  Congress  to  the  proposed 
transfer.  By  act  approved  July  11,  1862,  Congress  removed  the  restrictions 
imposed  in  the  "five-section  grant,"  and  authorized  the  General  Assembly  to 
make  such  disposition  of  the  lands  as  should  be  deemed  best  for  the  interests  of 
the  State.  By  these  several  acts,  the  five  sections  of  land  in  Jasper  County 
certified  to  the  State  to  aid  in  the  erection  of  public  buildings  under  the  act  of 
March  3,  1845,  entitled  "  An  act  supplemental  to  the  act  for  the  admission  of 
the  States  of  Iowa  and  Florida  into  the  Union,"  were  fully  appropriated  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Iowa  Agricultural  College  and  Farm.  The  institution  is 
located  in  Story  County.  Seven  hundred  and  twenty-one  acres  in  that  and 
two  hundred  in  Boone  County  were  donated  to  it  by  individuals  interested  in 
the  success  of  the  enterprise. 

By  act  of  Congress  approved  July  2,  1862,  an  appropriation  was  made  to 
each  State  and  Territory  of  30,000  acres  for  each  Senator  and  Representative 
in  Congress,  to  which,  by  the  apportionment  under  the  census  of  1860,  thev 
were  respectively  entitled.  This  grant  was  made  for  the  purpose  of  endowing 
colleges  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts. 

Iowa  accepted  this  grant  by  an  act  passed  at  an  extra  session  of  its  Legis- 
lature, approved  September  11,  1862,  entitled  "An  act  to  accept  of  the  grant, 
and  carry  into  execution  the  trust  conferred  upon  the  State  of  Iowa  by  an  act 
of  Congress  entitled  '  An  act  granting  public  lands  to  the  several  States  and 
Territories  which  may  provide  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the 
mechanic  arts,'  approved  July  2,  1862,"  This  act  made  it  the  duty  of  the 
Governor  to  appoint  an  agent  to  select  and  locate  the  lands,  and  provided 
that  none  should  be  selected  that  were  claimed  by  any  county  as  swamp 
lands.  The  agent  was  required  to  make  report  of  his  doings  to  the  Governor, 
who  was  instructed  to  submit  the  list  of  selections  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  Agricultural  College  for  their  approval.  One  thousand  dollars  were  appro- 
priated to  carry  the  law  in^  effect.  The  State,  having  two  Senators  and  six 
Representatives  in  Congress,  was  entitled  to  240,000  acres  of  land  under  this 
grant,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  and  maintaining  an  Agricultural  College. 
Peter  Melendy,  Esq.,  of  Black  Hawk  County,  was  appointed  to  make  the  selec- 
tions, and  during  August,  September  and  December,  1863,  located  them  in  the 
Fort  Dodge,  Des  Moines  and  Sioux  City  Land  Districts.  December  8,  1864, 
these  selections  were  certified  by  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Ofiice, 
and  were  approved  to  the  State  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  December  13, 
1864.  The  title  to  these  lands  was  vested  in  the  State  in  fee  simple,  and  con- 
flicted with  no  other  claims  under  other  grants. 

The  agricultural  lands  were  approved  to  the  State  as  240,000.96  acres;  but 
as  35,691.66  acres  were  located  within  railroad  limits,  which  were  computed  at 
the  rate  of  two  acres  for  one,  the  actual  amount  of  land  approved  to  the  State 
under  this  grant  was  only  204,309.30  acres,  located  as  follows: 

In  Des  Moines  Land  District 6,804.96  acres. 

In  Sioux  City  Land  District 59,025.87      " 

In  Fort  Dodge  Land  District 138,478.97      " 


218  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

By  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  March  29,  1864,  entitled,  "  An 
act  authorizing  the  Trustees  of  the  Iowa  State  Agricultural  College  and  Farm 
to  sell  all  lands  acquired,  granted,  donated  or  appropriated  for  the  benefit  of 
said  college,  and  to  make  an  investment  of  the  proceeds  thereof,"  all  these  lands 
were  granted  to  the  Agricultural  College  and  Farm,  and  the  Trustees  were  au- 
thorized to  take  possession,  and  sell  or  lease  them.  They  were  then,  under  the 
control  of  the  Trustees,  lands  as  follows  : 

Under  the  act  of  July  2,  1852 204,309.30  acres. 

Of  the  five-section  grant 3,200.00      " 

Lands  donated  in  Story  County 721.00      " 

Lands  donated  in  Boone  County 200.00      " 

Total 208,430.30  acres. 

The  Trustees  opened  an  office  at  Fort  Dodge,  and  appointed  Hon.  G.  W» 
Bassett  their  agent  for  the  sale  of  these  lands. 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

The  germ  of  the  free  public  school  system  of  Iowa,  which  now  ranks  sec- 
ond to  none  in  the  United  States,  was  planted  by  the  first  settlers.  They  had 
migrated  to  the  "  The  Beautiful  Land  "  from  other  and  older  States,  where  the 
common  school  system  had  been  tested  by  many  years'  experience,  bringing 
with  them  some  knowledge  of  its  advantages,  which  they  determined  should  be 
enjoyed  by  the  children  of  the  land  of  their  adoption.  The  system  thus  planted 
was  expanded  and  improved  in  the  broad  fields  of  the  West,  until  now  it  is 
justly  considered  one  of  the  most  complete,  comprehensive  and  liberal  in  the 
country. 

Nor  is  this  to  be  wondered  at  when  it  is  remembered  humble  log  school 
houses  were  built  almost  as  soon  as  the  log  cabin  of  the  earliest  settlers  were 
occupied  by  their  brave  builders.  In  the  lead  mining  regions  of  the  State,  the 
first  to  be  occupied  by  the  white  race,  the  hardy  pioneers  provided  the  means 
for  the  education  of  their  children  even  before  they  had  comfortable  dwellings 
for  their  families.  School  teachers  were  among  the  first  immigrants  to  Iowa. 
Wherever  a  little  settlement  was  made,  the  school  house  was  the  first  united 
public  act  of  the  settlers;  and  the  rude,  primitive  structures  of  the  early  time 
only  disappeared  when  the  communities  had  increased  in  population  and  wealth, 
and  were  able  to  replace  them  with  more  commodious  and  comfortable  buildings. 
Perhaps  in  no  single  instance  has  the  magnificent  progress  of  the  State  of  Iowa 
been  more  marked  and  rapid  than  in  her  common  school  system  and  in  her  school 
houses,  which,  long  since,  superseded  the  log  cabins  of  the  first  settlers.  To- 
day, the  school  houses  which  everywhere  dot  the  broad  and  fertile  prairies  of 
Iowa  are  unsurpassed  by  those  of  any  other  State  in  the  great  Union.  More 
especially  is  this  true  in  all  her  cities  and  villages,  where  liberal  and  lavish 
appropriations  have  been  voted,  by  a  generous  people,  for  the  erection  of  large, 
commodious  and  elegant  buildings,  furnished  with  all  the  modern  improvements, 
and  costing  from  ^10,000  to  ^60,000  each.  The  people  of  the  State  have  ex- 
pended more  than  ^10,000,000  for  the  erection  of  public  school  buildings. 

The  first  house  erected  in  Iowa  was  a  log  cabin  at  Dubuque,  built  by  James 
L.  Langworthy  and  a  few  other  miners,  in  the  Autumn  of  1833.  When  it  was 
completed,  George  Cabbage  was  employed  as  teacher  during  the  Winter  of 
1833-4,  and  thirty-five  pupils  attended  his  school.  Barrett  Whittemore  taught 
the  second  term  with  twentv-five  pupils  in  attendance.      Mrs.  Caroline  Dexter 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  219 

commenced  teaching  in  Dubuque  in  March,  1836.  She  was  the  first  female 
teacher  there,  and  probably  the  first  in  Iowa.  In  1839,  Thomas  H.  Benton, 
Jr.,  afterward  for  ten  years  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  opened  an 
English  and  classical  school  in  Dubuque.  The  first  tax  for  the  support  of 
schools  at  Dubuque  was  levied  in  1840. 

Among  the  first  buildings  erected  at  Burlington  was  a  commodious  log  school 
house  in  1834,  in  which  Mr.  Johnson  Pierson  taught  the  first  school  in  the 
Winter  of  1834-5. 

The  first  school  in  Muscatine  County  was  taught  by  George  Bumgardner, 
in  the  Spring  of  1837,  and  in  1839,  a  log  school  house  was  erected  in  Musca- 
tine, which  served  for  a  long  time  for  school  house,  church  and  public  hall. 
The  first  school  in  Davenport  was  taught  in  1838.  In  Fairfield,  Miss  Clarissa 
Sawyer,  James  F.  Chambers  and  Mrs.  Reed  taught  school  in  1839. 

When  the  site  of  Iowa  City  was  selected  as  the  capital  of  the  Territory  of 
Iowa,  in  May,  1839,  it  was  a  perfect  wilderness.  The  first  sale  of  lots  took 
place  August  18,  1839,  and  before  January  1,  1840,  about  twenty  families  had 
settled  within  the  limits  of  the  town ;  and  during  the  same  year,  Mr.  Jesse 
Berry  opened  a  school  in  a  small  frame  building  he  had  erected,  on  what  is  now 
College  street. 

The  first  settlement  in  Monroe  County  was  made  in  1843,  by  Mr.  John  R. 
Gray,  about  two  miles  from  the  present  site  of  Eddyville;  and  in  the  Summer 
of  1844,  a  log  school  house  was  built  by  Gray,  William  V.  Beedle,  C.  Renfro, 
Joseph  McMullen  and  Willoughby  Randolph,  and  the  first  school  was  opened 
by  Miss  Urania  Adams.  The  building  was  occupied  for  school  purposes  for 
nearly  ten  years.  About  a  year  after  the  first  cabin  was  built  at  Oskaloosa,  a 
log  school  house  was  built,  in  which  school  was  opened  by  Samuel  W.  Caldwell 
in  1844. 

At  Fort  Des  Moines,  now  the  capital  of  the  State,  the  first  school  was 
taught  by  Lewis  Whitten,  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  in  the  Winter  of  1846-7, 
in  one  of  the  rooms  on  "  Coon  Row,"  built  for  barracks. 

The  first  school  in  Pottawattomie  County  was  opened  by  George  Green,  a 
Mormon,  at  Council  Point,  prior  to  1849 ;  and  until  about  1854,  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  all  the  teachers  in  that  vicinity  were  Mormons. 

The  first  school  in  Decorah  was  taught  in  1853,  by  T.  W.  Burdick,  then  a 
young  man  of  seventeen.  In  Osceola,  the  first  school  was  opened  by  Mr.  D. 
W.  Scoville.  The  first  school  at  Fort  Dodge  was  taught  in  1855,  by  Cyrus  C. 
Carpenter,  since  Governor  of  the  State.  In  Crawford  County,  the  first  school 
house  was  built  in  Mason's  Grove,  in  1856,  and  Morris  McHenry  first  occupied 
it  as  teacher. 

During  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  history  of  Iowa,  the  log  school  house  pre- 
vailed, and  in  1861,  there  were  893  of  these  primitive  structures  in  use  for 
school  purposes  in  the  State.  Since  that  time  they  have  been  gradually  dis- 
appearing.    In  1865,  there  were  796;  in  1870,  336,  and  in  1875,  121. 

Iowa  Territory  was  created  July  3, 1838.  January  1,  1839,  the  Territorial 
Legislature  passed  an  act  providing  that  "  there  shall  be  established  a  common 
school,  or  schools  in  each  of  the  counties  in  this  Territory,  which  shall  be 
open  and  free  for  every  class  of  white  citizens  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
twenty-one  years."  The  second  section  of  the  act  provided  that  "the  County 
Board  shall,  from  time  to  time,  form  such  districts  in  their  respective  counties 
whenever  a  petition  may  be  presented  for  the  purpose  by  a  majority  of  the 
voters  resident  within  such  contemplated  district."  These  districts  were  gov- 
erned by  boards  of  trustees,  usually  of  three  persons  ;  each  disti'ict  was  required 


220  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

to  maintain  school  at  least  three  months  in  eveiy  year ;  and  later,  laws  were 
enacted  providing  for  county  school  taxes  for  the  payment  of  teachers,  and  that 
whatever  additional  sum  might  be  required  should  be  assessed  upon  the  parents 
sending,  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  time  sent. 

When  Iowa  Territory  became  a  State,  in  1846,  with  a  population  of  100,- 
000,  and  with  20,000  scholars  within  its  limits,  about  four  hundred  school  dis- 
tricts had  been  organized.  In  1850,  there  were  1,200,  and  in  1857,  the 
number  had  increased  to  3,265. 

In  March,  1858,  upon  the  recommendation  of  Hon.  M.  L.  Fisher,  then  Su- 
perintendent of  Public  Instruction,  the  Seventh  General  Assembly  enacted  that 
"  each  civil  township  is  declared  a  school  district,"  and  provided  that  these  should 
be  divided  into  sub-districts.  This  law  went  into  force  March  20,  1858,  and 
reduced  the  number  of  school  districts  from  about  3,500  to  less  than  900. 

This  change  of  school  organization  resulted  in  a  very  material  reduction  of 
the  expenditures  for  the  compensation  of  District  Secretaries  and  Treasurers. 
An  effort  was  made  for  several  years,  from  1867  to  1872,  to  abolish  the  sub- 
district  system.  Mr.  Kissell,  Superintendent,  recommended,  in  his  report  of 
January  1,  1872,  and  Governor  Merrill  forcibly  endorsed  his  views  in  his  annual 
message.  But  the  Legislature  of  that  year  provided  for  the  formation  of  inde- 
pendent districts  from  the  sub-districts  of  district  townships. 

The  system  of  graded  schools  was  inaugurated  in  18-49  ;  and  new  schools,  in 
which  more  than  one  teacher  is  employed,  are  universally  graded. 

The  first  official  mention  of  Teachers'  Institutes  in  the  educational  records 
of  Iowa  occurs  in  the  annual  report  of  Hon.  Thomas  H.  Benton,  Jr.,  made 
December  2,  1850,  who  said,  "An  institution  of  this  character  was  organized  a 
few  years  ago,  composed  of  the  teachers  of  the  mineral  regions  of  Illinois, 
Wisconsin  and  Iowa.  An  association  of  teachers  has,  also,  been  formed  in  the 
county  of  Henry,  and  an  effort  was  made  in  October  last  to  organize  a  regular 
institute  in  the  county  of  Jones."  At  that  time — although  the  beneficial 
influence  of  these  institutes  was  admitted,  it  was  urged  that  the  expenses  of 
attending  them  was  greater  than  teachers  with  limited  compensation  M-ere  able 
to  bear.  To  obviate  this  objection,  Mr.  Benton  recommended  that  ''  the  sum  of 
$150  should  be  appropriated  annually  for  three  years,  to  be  drawn  in  install- 
ments of  $50  each  by  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  and  expended 
for  these  institutions."  He  proposed  that  three  institutes  should  be  held  annu- 
ally at  points  to  be  designated  by  the  Superintendent. 

No  legislation  in  this  direction,  however,  was  had  until  March,  1858,  when 
an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  holding  of  teachers'  institutes  for  periods  not 
less  than  six  working  days,  whenever  not  less  than  thirty  teachers  should  desire. 
The  Superintendent  was  authorized  to  expend  not  exceeding  $100  for  any  one 
institute,  to  be  paid  out  by  the  County  Superintendent  as  the  institute  might 
direct  for  teachers  and  lecturers,  and  one  thousand  dollars  was  appropriated  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  these  institutes. 

December  6,  1858,  Mr.  Fislier  reported  to  the  Board  of  Education  that 
institutes  had  been  appointed  in  twenty  counties  within  the  preceding  six  months, 
and  more  would  have  been,  but  the  appropriation  had  been  exhausted. 

The  Board  of  Education  at  its  first  session,  commencing  December  6,  1858, 
enacted  a  code  of  school  laws  which  retained  the  existing  provisions  for  teachers' 
institutes. 

In  March,  1860,  the  General  Assembly  amended  the  act  of  the  Board  by 
appropriating  "  a  sum  not  exceeding  fifty  dollars  annually  for  one  such  institute, 
held  as  provided  by  law  in  each  county." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  221 

In  1865,  Mr.  Faville  reported  that  "  the  provision  made  by  the  State  for  the 
henefit  of  teachers'  institutes  has  never  been  so  fully  appreciated,  both  by  the 
people  and  the  teachers,  as  during  the  last  two  years." 

By  act  approved  March  19,  1874,  Normal  Institutes  were  established  in 
each  county,  to  be  held  annually  by  the  County  Superintendent.  This  was 
regarded  as  a  very  decided  step  in  advance  by  Mr.  Abernethy,  and  in  1876  the 
Sixteenth  General  Assembly  established  the  first  permanent  State  Normal 
School  at  Cedar  Falls,  Black  Hawk  County,  appropriating  the  building  and 
property  of  the  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home  at  that  place  for  that  purpose.  This 
school  is  now  "  in  tlie  full  tide  of  successful  experiment." 

The  public  school  system  of  Iowa  is  admirably  organized,  and  if  the  various 
officers  who  are  entrusted  with  the  educational  interests  of  the  commonwealth 
are  faithful  and  competent,  should  and  will  constantly  improve. 

"  The  public  schools  are  supported  by  funds  arising  from  several  sources. 
The  sixteenth  section  of  every  Congressional  ToAvnship  was  set  apart  by  the 
General  Government  for  school  purposes,  being  one-thirty-sixth  part  of  all  the 
lands  of  the  State.  The  minimum  price  of  these  lands  was  fixed  at  one  dollar 
and  twent3^-five  cents  per  acre.  Congress  also  made  an  additional  donation  to 
the  State  of  five  hundred  thousand  acres,  and  an  appropriation  of  five  per  cent. 
on  all  the  sales  of  public  lands  to  the  school  funcl.  The  State  gives  to  this 
fund  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  all  lands  which  escheat  to  it ;  the  proceeds  of 
all  fines  for  the  violation  of  the  liquor  and  criminal  laws.  The  money  derived 
from  these  sources  constitutes  the  permanent  school  fund  of  the  State,  which 
cannot  be  diverted  to  any  other  purpose.  The  penalties  collected  by  the  courts 
for  fines  and  forfeitures  go  to  the  school  fund  in  the  counties  where  collected. 
The  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  lands  and  the  five  per  cent,  fund  go  into  the  State 
Treasury,  and  the  State  distributes  these  proceeds  to  the  several  counties  accord- 
ing to  their  request,  and  the  counties  loan  the  money  to  individuals  for  long 
terms  at  eight  per  cent,  interest,  on  security  of  land  valued  at  three  times  the 
amount  of  the  loan,  exclusive  of  all  buildings  and  improvements  thereon.  The 
interest  on  these  loans  is  paid  into  the  State  Treasury,  and  becomes  the  avail- 
able school  fund  of  the  State.  The  counties  are  responsible  to  the  State  for  all 
money  so  loaned,  and  the  State  is  likewise  responsible  to  the  school  fund  for  all 
moneys  transferred  to  the  counties.  The  interest  on  these  loans  is  apportioned 
by  the  State  Auditor  semi-annually  to  the  several  counties  of  the  State,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  number  of  persons  between  the  ages  of  five  and  twenty-one  years. 
The  counties  also  levy  an  annual  tax  for  school  purposes,  which  is  apportioned 
to  the  several  district  townships  in  the  same  Avay.  A  district  tax  is  also 
levied  for  the  same  purpose.  The  money  arising  from  these  several  sources 
constitutes  the  support  of  the  public  schools,  and  is  sufficient  to  enable 
every  sub-district  in  the  State  to  afford  from  six  to  nine  months'  school 
each  year." 

The  taxes  levied  for  the  support  of  schools  are  self-imposed.  Under  the 
admirable  school  laws  of  the  State,  no  taxes  can  be  legally  assessed  or  collected 
for  the  erection  of  school  houses  until  they  have  been  ordered  by  the  election  of 
the  district  at  a  school  meeting  legally  called.  The  school  houses  of  Iowa  are 
the  pride  of  the  State  and  an  honor  to  the  people.  If  they  have  been  some- 
times built  at  a  prodigal  expense,  the  tax  payers  have  no  one  ^to  blame  but 
themselves.  The  teachers'  and  contingent  funds  are  determined  by  the  Board  of 
Directors  under  certain  legal  restrictions.  These  boards  are  elected  annually, 
except  in  the  independent  districts,  in  which  the  board  may  be  entirely  changed 
every  three  years.     The  only  exception  to  this  mode  of  levying  taxes  for  support 


222  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

of  schools  is  the  county  school  tax,  which  is  determined  by  the  County  Board 
of  Supervisors.  The  tax  is  from  one  to  three  mills  on  the  dollar ;  usually, 
however,  but  one.  Mr.  Abernethy,  who  was  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion from  1872  to  1877,  said  in  one  of  his  reports : 

There  is  but  little  opposition  to  the  levy  of  taxes  for  the  support  of  schools,  and  there 
would  be  still  less  if  the  funds  were  always  properly  guarded  and  judiciously  expended.  How- 
ever much  our  people  disagree  upon  other  subjects,  they  are  practically  united  upon  this. 
The  opposition  of  wealth  has  long  since  ceased  to  exist,  and  our  wealthy  men  are  usually  the 
most  liberal  in  their  views  and  the  most  active  friends  of  popular  education.  They  are  often 
found  upon  our  school  boards,  and  usually  make  the  best  of  school  officers.  It  is  not  uncommon 
for  Boards  of  Directors,  especially  in  the  larger  towns  and  cities,  to  be  composed  wholly  of  mea 
who  represent  the  enterprise,  wealth  and  business  of  their  cities. 

At  the  close  of  1877,  there  were  1,086  township  districts,  3,138  indepen- 
dent districts  and  7,015  sub-districts.  There  were  9,948  ungraded  and  476 
graded  schools,  with  an  average  annual  session  of  seven  months  and  five  days. 
There  were  7,348  male  teachers  employed,  whose  average  compensation  was 
^34.88  per  month,  and  12,518  female  teachers,  with  an  average  compensation. 
of  $28.69  per  month. 

The  number  of  persons  between  the  ages  5  and  21  years,  in  1877,  was 
567.859;  number  enrolled  in  public  schools,  421,163;  total  average  attendance, 
251,372;  average  cost  of  tuition  per  month,  $1.62.  There  are  9,279  frame, 
671  brick,  257  stone  and  89  log  school  houses,  making  a  grand  total  of  10,296, 
valued  at  $9,044,973.  The  public  school  libraries  number  17,329  volumes. 
Ninety-nine  teachers'  institutes  were  held  during  1877.  Teachers'  salaries 
amounted  to  $2,953,645.  There  was  expended  for  school  houses,  grounds, 
libraries  and  apparatus,  $1,106,788,  and  for  fuel  and  other  contingencies, 
$1,136,995,  making  the  grand  total  of  $5,197,428  expended  by  the  generous 
people  of  loAva  for  the  support  of  their  magnificent  public  schools  in  a  single 
year.  The  amount  of  the  permanent  school  fund,  at  the  close  of  1877,  was 
$3,462,000.     Annual  interest,  $276,960. 

In  1857,  there  were  3,265  independent  districts,  2,708  ungraded  schools, 
and  1,572  male  and  1,424  female  teachers.  Teachers'  salaries  amounted  to 
$198,142,  and  the  total  expenditures  for  schools  was  only  $364,515.  Six  hun- 
dred and  twenty-three  volumes  were  the  extent  of  the  public  school  libraries 
twenty  years  ago,' and  there  were  only  1,686  school  houses,  valued  at  $571,064. 

In  twenty  years,  teachers'  salaries  have  increased  from  $198,142,  in  1857, 
to  $2,953,645  in  1877.  Total  school  expenditures,  from  $364,515  to 
$5,197,428. 

The  significance  of  such  facts  as  these  is  unmistakable.  Such  lavish  expen- 
ditures can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  liberality  and  public  spirit  of  the 
people,  all  of  whom  manifest  their  love  of  popular  education  and  their  faith  in 
the  public  schools  by  the  annual  dedication  to  their  support  of  more  than  one 
per  cent,  of  their  entire  taxable  property ;  this,  too,  uninterruptedly  through  a 
series  of  years,  commencing  in  the  midst  of  a  war  which  taxed  their  energies  and 
resources  to  the  extreme,  and  continuing  through  years  of  general  depression  in 
business — years  of  moderate  yield  of  produce,  of  discouragingly  low  prices,  and 
even  amid  the  scanty  surroundings  and  privations  of  pioneer  life.  Few  human 
enterprises  have  a  grander  significance  or  give  evidence  of  a  more  noble  purpose 
than  the  generous  contributions  from  the  scanty  resources  of  the  pioneer  for  the 
purposes  of  public  education. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  223 


POLITICAL  RECORD. 

TERRITORIAL   OFFICERS. 

G-overnors — Robert  Lucas,  1838-41 ;  John  Chambers,  1841-45  ;  James 
Clarke,  1845. 

Secretaries— WiW'mm  B.  Conway,  1838,  died  1839 ;  James  Clarke,  1839 ; 
0.  H.  W.  Stull,  1841 ;  Samuel  J.  Burr,  1843  ;  Jesse  Williams,  1845. 

Auditors— J  ease  "Williams,  1840 ;  Wm.  L.  Gilbert,  1843  •  Robert  M. 
Secrest,  1845. 

Treasurers — Thornton  Bayliss,  1839  ;  Morgan  Reno,  1840. 

Judges — Charles  Mason,  Chief  Justice,  1838 ;  Joseph  Williams,  1838  ; 
Thomas  S.  Wilson,  1838. 

Presidents  of  Council — Jesse  B.  Browne,  1838-9  ;  Stephen  Hempstead, 
1839-40;  M.  Bainridge,  1840-1;  Jonathan  W.  Parker,  1841-2;  John  D. 
Elbert,  1842-3 ;  Thomas  Cox,  1843-4 ;  S.  Clinton  Hastings,  1845  ;  Stephen 
Hempstead,  1845-6. 

Speakers  of  the  House — William  H.  Wallace,  1838-9 ;  Edward  Johnston, 
1839-40 ;  Thomas  Cox,  1840-1 ;  Warner  Lewis,  1841-2 ;  James  M.  Morgan, 
1842-3  ;  James  P.  Carleton,  1843-4  ;  James  M.  Morgan,  1845 ;  George  W. 
McCleary,  1845-6. 

First  Constitutional  Convention,  184-4- — Shepherd  Leffler,  President ;  Geo. 
S.  Hampton,  Secretary. 

Second  Constitutional  Convention,  1846 — Enos  Lowe,  President ;  William 
Thompson,  Secretary. 

OFFICERS    OF   THE   STATE  GOVERNMENT. 

Governors — Ansel  Briggs,  1846  to  1850 ;  Stephen  Hempstead,  1850  to 
1854;  James  W.  Grimes,  1854  to  1858  ;  Ralph  P.  Lowe,  1858  to  1860;  Sam- 
uel J.  Kirkwood,  1860  to  1864  ;  William  M.  Stone,  1864  to  1868  ;  Samuel 
Morrill,  1868  to  1872  ;  Cyrus  C.  Carpenter,  1872  to  1876  ;  Samuel  J.  Kirk- 
wood, 1876  to  1877  ;  Joshua  G.  Newbold,  Acting,  1877  to  1878 ;  John  H. 
Gear,  1878  to . 

Lieutenant  Gfovernor — Office  created  by  the  new  Constitution  September  3, 
1857— Oran  Faville,  1858-9  ;  Nicholas  J.  Rusch,  1860-1 ;  John  R.  Needham, 
1862-3;  Enoch  W.  Eastman,  1864-5;  Benjamin  F.  Gue,  1866-7;  John 
Scott,  1868-9;  M.  M.  Walden,  1870-1;  H.  C.  Bulls,  1872-3;  Joseph  Dy- 
sart,  1874-5  ;  Joshua  G.  Newbold,  1876-7  ;  Frank  T.  Campbell,  1878-9. 

Secretaries  of  State — Elisha  Cutler,  Jr.,  Dec.  5,  1840,  to  Dec.  4,  1848 ; 
Josiah  H.  Bonney,  Dec.  4,  1848,  to  Dec.  2,  18o0;  George  W.  McCleary,  Dec. 
2,  1850,  to  Dec.  1,  1856 ;  Elijah  Sells,  Dec.  1,  1856,  to  Jan.  5,  1863 ;  James 
Wright,  Jan.  5,  1863,  to  Jan.  7,  1867 ;  Ed.  Wright,  Jan.  7,  1867,  to  Jan.  6, 
1873 ;  Josiah  T.  Young,  Jan.  6,  1873,  to . 

Auditors  of  State— Joseph  T.  Fales,  Dec.  5, 1846,  to  Dec.  2, 1850 ;  Will- 
iam Pattee,  Dec.  2,  1850,  to  Dec.  4,  1854;  Andrew  J.  Stevens,  Dec.  4,  1854, 
resigned  in  1855 ;  John  Pattee,  Sept.  22,  1855,  to  Jan.  3,  1859 ;  Jonathan 
W.  Cattell,  1859  to  1865 ;  John  A.  Elliot,  1865  to  1871 ;  John  Russell,  1871 
to  1875  ;  Buren  R.  Sherman,  1875  to . 

Treasurers  of  State— Morgan  Reno,  Dec.  18,  1846,  to  Dec.  2,  1850 ; 
Israel  Kister,  Dec.  2,  1850,  to  Dec.  4,  1852  ;  Martin  L.  Morris,  Dec.  4.  1852, 
to  Jan.  2,  1859 ;  John  W.  Jones.  1859  to  1863  ;  William  H.  Holmes,  1863  to 


224  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

1867  ;    Samuel  E.  Rankin,  1867  to   1873 ;  William  Christy,  1873  to  1877  ; 

George  W.  Bemis,  1877  to . 

Superintendents  of  Public  Instruction— Of^ce  created  in  1847 — James  Harlan, 
June  5,  1845  (Supreme  Court  decided  election  void) ;  Thomas  H.  Benton,  Jr., 
May  23,  1844,  to  June  7,  1854 ;  James  D.  Eads,  1854-7 ;  Joseph  C.  Stone, 
March  to  June,  1857 ;  Maturin  L.  Fisher,  1857  to  Dec,  1858,  when  the  office 
was  abolished  and  the  duties  of  the  office  devolved  upon  the  Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Education. 

Secretaries  of  Board  of  Education — Thomas  H.  Benton,  Jr.,  1859-1863; 
Oran  Faville,  Jan.  1,  1864.     Board  abolished  March  23,  1864. 

Superintendents  of  Public  Instruction — Office  re-created  March  23,  1864 — 
Oran  Faville,  March  28,  1864,  resigned  March  1,  1867  ;  D.  Franklin  Wells, 
March  4, 1867,  to  Jan.,  1870 ;  A.  S.  Kissell,  1870  to  1872 ;  Alonzo  Abernethy, 
1872  to  1877  ;  Carl  W.  Von  Coelln,  1877  to . 

State  Binders — Office  created  Februarv  21,  1855 — William  M.  Coles,  May 
1,  1855,  to  Mav  1,  1859 ;  Frank  M.  Mills,  1859  to  1867 ;  James  S.  Carter, 
1867  to  1870;"  J.  J.  Smart,  1870  to  1874;  H.  A.  Perkins,  1874  to  1875; 
James  J.  Smart,  1875  to  1876;  H.  A.  Perkins,  1876  to . 

Registers  of  the  State  La)id  Office — x\nson  Hart,  May  5,  1855,  to  May 
13,  1857  ;  Theodore  S.  Parvin,  May  13,  1857,  to  Jan.  3,  1859  ;  Amos  B. 
Miller,  Jan.  3,  1859,  to  October,  1862;  Edwin  Mitchell,  Oct.  31,  1862,  to 
Jan  5,  1863 ;  Josiah  A.  Harvey,  Jan.  5,  1863,  to  Jan.  7,  1867  ;  Cyrus  C. 
Carpenter,  Jan.  7,  1867,  to  January,  1871 ;  Aaron  Brown,  January,  1871,  to 
to  January,  1875 ;  David  Secor,  January,  1875,  to . 

State  Printers — Office  created  Jan.  3,  1840  —  Grarrett  D.  Palmer  and 
George  Paul,  1849;  William  H.  Merritt,  1851  to  1853;  William  A.  Hornish, 
1853  (resigned  May  16,  1853);  Mahoney  &  Dorr,  1853  to  1855;  Peter 
Moriarty,  1855  to  1857;  John  Teesdale,  1857  to  1861;  Francis  W.  Palmer, 
1861  to  1869;  Frank  M.  Mills,  1869  to  1870;  G.  W.  Edwards,  1870  to 
1872  ;  R.  P.  Clarkson,  1872  to . 

Ad;jutants  G-eneral — Daniel  S.  Lee,  1851-5  ;  Geo.  W.  McCleary,  1855-7  ; 
Elijah 'Sells,  1857  ;  Jesse  Bowen,  1857-61;  Nathaniel  Baker,  1861  to  1877; 
John  H.  Looby,  1877  to . 

Attorneiis  aeneral—D^^i^l  C.  Cloud,  1853-56  ;  Samuel  A.  Rice,  1856-60 : 
Charles  C.  Nourse.  1861-4 :  Isaac  L.  Allen,  1865  (resiscned  January,  1866) ; 
Frederick  E.  Bissell,  1866  (died  June  12,  1867);  Henry^O' Connor,  1867-72; 
Marsena  E.  Cutts,  1872-6;  John  F.  McJunkin,  1877. 

Presidents  of  the  Senate — Thomas  Baker,  1846-7 ;  Thomas  Hughes, 
1848 ;  John  J.  "Selmaii,  1848-9 ;  Enos  Lowe.  1850-1 ;  William  E.  Leffing- 
well,  1852-3;  Maturin  L.  Fisher,  1854-5;  William  W.  Hamilton,  1856-7. 
Under  the  new  Constitution,  the  Lieutenant  Governor  is  President  of  the 
Senate. 

SjjeaJcers  of  the  Rouse — Jesse  B.  Brown,  1847-8;  Smiley  H.  Bonhan, 
1849-50:  George  Temple,  1851-2;  James  Grant,  1853-4;  Reuben  Noble, 
l^bb-Q  ;  Samuel  McFariand,  1856-7 ;  Stephen  B.  Sheledv,  1858-9  ;  John 
Edwards,  1860-1 :  Rush  Clark,  1862-3 ;  Jacob  Butler,  1864-5  :  Ed.  Wright, 
1866-7 ;  John  Russell,  1868-9 ;  Avlett  R.  Cotton,  1870-1 ;  James  Wilson, 
1872-3 ;  John  H.  Gear,  1874-7  ;  John  Y.  Stone,  1878. 

J^cw  Constitutional  Convention,  1859 — Francis  Springer,  President ;  Thos. 
J.  Saunders,  Secretary. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  225 

STATE    OFFICERS,    1878. 

John  H.  Gear,  Governor;  Frank  T.  Campbell,  Lieutenant  Governor;  Josiah 
T.  Young,  Secretary  of  State ;  Buren  R.  Sherman,  Auditor  of  State ;  George 
W.  Bemis,  Treasurer  of  State;  David  Secor,  Register  of  State  Land  Office; 
John  H.  Looby,  Adjutant  General;  John  F.  McJunken,  Attorney  General; 
Mrs.  Ada  North,  State  Librarian ;  Edward  J.  Holmes,  Clerk  Supreme  Court ; 
John  S.  Runnells,  Reporter  Supreme  Court;  Carl  W.  Von  Coelln,  Superintend- 
ent Public  Instruction;  Richard  P.  Clarkson,  State  Printer;  Henry  A.  Perkins, 
State  Binder;  Prof.  Nathan  R.  Leonard,  Superintendent  of  Weights  and 
Measures;  William  H.  Fleming,  Governor's  Private  Secretary;  Fletcher  W. 
Young,  Deputy  Secretary  of  State;  John  C.  Parish,  Deputy  Auditor  of  State; 
Erastus  G.  Morgan,  Deputy  Treasurer  of  State;  John  M.  Davis,  Deputy  Reg- 
ister Land  Office;  Ira  C.  Kling,  Deputy  Superintendent  Public  Instruction. 

THE   JUDICIARY. 

SUPREME    COURT   OF   IOWA. 

Oliief  Justices. — Charles  Mason,  resigned  in  June,  1847 ;  Joseph  Williams, 
Jan.,  1847,  to  Jan.,  1848 ;  S.  Clinton  Hastings,  Jan.,  1848,  to  Jan.,  1849;  Joseph 
Williams,  Jan.,  1849,  to  Jan.  11, 1855;  Geo.  G.  Wright,  Jan.  11,  1855,  to  Jan., 
1860 ;  Ralph  P.  Lowe,  Jan.,  1860,  to  Jan.  1, 1862 ;  Caleb  Baldwin,  Jan.,  1862,  to 
Jan.,  1864;  Geo.  G.  Wright,  Jan.,  1864,  to  Jan.,  1866;  Ralph  P.  Lowe,  Jan., 1866, 
to  Jan.,  1868;  John  F.  Dillon,  Jan.,  1868,  to  Jan.,  1870;  Chester  C.  Cole,  Jan. 
1,  1870,  to  Jan.  1,  1871;  James  G.  Day,  Jan.  1, 1871,  to  Jan.  1,  1872;  Joseph 
M.  Beck,  Jan.  1,  1872,  to  Jan.  1,  1874;  W.  E.  Miller,  Jan.  1,  1874,  to  Jan.  1, 
1876;  Chester  C.  Cole,  Jan.  1,  1876,  to  Jan.  1,  1877;  James  G.  Day,  Jan.  1, 
1877,  to  Jan.  1,  1878;  James  H.  Rothrock,  Jan.  1,  1878. 

Associate  Judges. — Joseph  Williams;  Thomas  S.  Wilson,  resigned  Oct., 
1847;  John  F.  Kinney,  June  12,  1847,  resigned  Feb.  15,  1854;  George 
Greene,  Nov.  1,  1847,  to  Jan.  9,  1855;  Jonathan  C.  Hall,  Feb.  15,  1854,  to 
succeed  Kinney,  resigned,  to  Jan.,  1855;  William  G.  Woodward,  Jan.  9,  1855; 
Norman  W.  Isbell,  Jan.  16,  1855,  resigned  1856;  Lacen  D.  Stockton,  June  3, 
1856,  to  succeed  Isbell,  resigned,  died  June  9,  1860;  Caleb  Baldwin,  Jan.  11, 
1860,  to  1864;  Ralph  P.  Lowe,  Jan.  12,  1860;  George  G.  Wright,  June  26, 
1860,  to  succeed  Stockton,  deceased;  elected  U.  S.  Senator,  1870;  John  F.  Dil- 
lon, Jan.  1,  1864,  to  succeed  Baldwin,  resigned,  1870;  Chester  C.  Cole,  March 
1,  1864,  to  1877 ;  Joseph  M.  Beck,  Jan.  1,  1868 ;  W.  E.  Miller,  October  11, 
1864,  to  succeed  Dillon,  resigned;  James  G.  Day,  Jan.  1,  1871,  to  succeed 
Wright. 

SUPREME    COURT,    1878. 

James  H.  Rothrock,  Cedar  County,  Chief  Justice;  Joseph  M.  Beck,  Lee 
County,  Associate  Justice ;  Austin  Adams,  Dubuque  County,  Associate  Justice ; 
William  H.  Seevers,  Oskaloosa  County,  Associate  Justice;  James  G.  Day,  Fre- 
mont County,  Associate  Justice. 

CONGRESSIONAL    REPRESENTATION. 

UNITED    STATES    SENATORS. 

(The  first  General  Assembly  failed  to  elect  Senators.) 

George  W.  Jones,  Dubuque,  Dec.  7,  1848-1858  ;  Augustus  C.  Dodge,  Bur- 
lington, Dec.  7,  1848-1855;  James  Harlan,  Mt.  Pleasant,  Jan.  6,  1855-1865; 
James  W.  Grimes,  Burlington,  Jan.  26,  1858-died  1870  ;  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
Iowa  City,  elected  Jan.  13,  1866,  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  resignation  of  James 


22b  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATF  OF  IOWA. 

llavlan  :  James  Harlan,  Mt.  rioasaut,  March  4, 1SG0-1S72  ;  James  T>.  Howell, 
Keokuk,  elected  Jan.  '20,  ISTO.  to  till  vacancy  caused  bv  the  death  of  J.  W. 
Grimes — term  expired  March  od ;  Georoje  G*  Wriijht,  Des  Moines,  ^larch  -1, 
1ST1-1ST7:  William  B.  Allison,  Dubm-fue.  Marcir-i,  1S7'2 ;  Samuel  J.  Kirk- 
"wood,  March  4,  1ST  7. 

MBMEEKS    OV    llOVSK    OV    I^KTRKSKXTATIVKS. 

Tarnfihiihith  Co)iij)rss — IS40  to  IS4^. — S.  Clinton  Hastino;s  :  Shepherd 
Leiller. 

Thirtieth  Conan'ss — Z>V"  to  1S49. — First  District.  William  Thompson  ; 
Second  District,  Shepherd  Leiller. 

'Ihirt (/-first  Comrrt'ss — 1S49  to  1S51. — Fii-st  District,  First  Session,  Wm. 
Thompson;  unseated  by  the  House  of  Kepvesentatives  on  a  contest,  and  election 
remanded  to  the  pei^ple.  First  District.  Second  Session.  Daniel  F.  Miller. 
Second  District.  Shepherd  LetHer. 

Thirtu-socond  Couar.ss — iSol  to  ISoS. — First  District,  Bernhart  Heun. 
Second  District.  Lincoln  Ohvrk. 

Thirtu-third  Coth7rcss — icS'o^?  to  i.S'JJ. — First  District.  Bernhart  Henn. 
Second  District,  John  P.  Cook. 

'Thirtu-fourth  Conprcss — i>>\>J  to  lSo7. — First  District.  Augustus  Hall. 
Second  District.  James  Thorington. 

Thirti/-n/th  Co)hjrt\<s — .Z^\j"  to  ISoP. — First  District,  Samuel  E.  Curtis. 
Second  District,  Timothy  Davis. 

Thirti/sixth  Comjress — ISoP  to  1S61. — First  District,  Samuel  R.  Curtis. 
Second  District,  William  Yandever. 

Thirtiz-^tTcnth  Concrrcsis — IStU  to  IStki. — First  District.  First  Session, 
Samuel  B.  Curtis.*  First  District,  Second  and  Third  Sessions,  James  F.  Wil- 
son.    Second  District.  William  Yandever. 

Thirtihciijhth  Comjriss — i^'feV  to  IS60. — First  District,  James  F.  Wilson. 
Second  District.  Hiram  Price.  Third  District,  AVilliam  B.  Allison.  Fourth 
District,  Josiah  B.  Grinnell.  Fifth  District,  John  A.  Kassou.  Sixth  District, 
Asahel  W.  Hubbard. 

Thirti/-ni)ith  Conijrtss — icS'^'J  to  1S67. — First  District,  James  F.  Wilson  ; 
Second  District.  Hiram  Price;  Third  District,  William  B.  Allison;  Fourth 
District.  Josiah  B.  Grinnell;  Fifth  District.  John  A.  Kasson  ;  Sixth  District, 
Asahel  W.  Hubbard. 

Fortieth  Comjress — 1S67'  to  1S69. — First  District,  James  F.  Wilson  ;  Sec- 
ond District,  Hiram  Price;  Third  District,  William  B.  Allison,  Fourth  District, 
William  Louo;hridi:;e;  Fifth  District,  Grenville  M.  Dodge;  Sixth  District, 
As;ihel  W.  Hubbard. 

Fortthjirst  Cofhjress — i^'f).'^  to  IS?  I. — First  District.  George  W.  McCrary  ; 
Second  District,  William  Smyth ;  Third  District,  William  B.  Allison ;  Fourth 
District,  William  Loughridge ;  Fifth  District,  Frank  W.  Palmer ;  Sixth  Dis- 
ti'ict,  Charles  Pomeroy. 

Fortu-^Ci'ond  Coturess — 1S71  to  IST'S. — First  District,  George  W.  Mc- 
Crary ;  Second  District.  Aylett  R.  Cotton ;  Third  District.  W.  G.  Donnan  ; 
Fourth  District.  ^L\dison  ^L  Waldon ;  Fifth  District,  Frank  W.  Palmer  :  Sixth 
District.  Jackson  Orr. 

Forttj-third  Co)hjrt's$ — i.ST^^  to  1S7'J. — First  District.  George  W.  McCrary: 
Second  District,  Aylett  R.  Cotton;  Third  District,  William  Y.  Donnan  ;  Fourth 
District,    Henry    0.   Pratt ;    Fifth   District,   James   Wilson ;    Sixth  District, 

"*  V*o*ti?vl  seat  by  a>.wp»*n>^*  of  iromuiission  as  Brigadier  C«»afx*l,  »ad  .t.  TT  '\A";',s.5v,  chos^iii  his  sucwes^ir. 


#;  j//\ 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  22S 

William  Loughridge;  Seventh  District,  John  A,  Kasson ;  Eighth  District, 
James  W.  McDill ;  Ninth  District,  Jackson  Orr. 

Forty-fourth  Congress— 1875  to  ic?7/'.— First  District,  George  W.  Mc- 
Crary ;  Second  District,  John  Q.  Tufts  ;  Third  District,  L.  L.  Ainsworth ; 
Fourth  District,  Henry  0.  Pratt;  Fifth  District,  James  Wilson  ;  Sixth  District, 
Ezekiel  S.  Sampson ;  Seventh  District,  John  A.  Kasson ;  Eighth  District, 
James  W.  McDill ;  Fifth  District,  Addison  Oliver. 

Forty-fifth  Congress — 1S77  to  1879. — First  District,  J.  C.  Stone;  Second 
District,  Hiram  Price  ;  Third  District,  T.  W.  Burdick  ;  Fourth  District,  H.  C. 
Deering ;  Fifth  District,  Rush  Clark ;  Sixth  District,  E.  S.  Sampson ; 
Seventh  District,  H.  J.  B.  Cummings ;  Eighth  District,  W.  F.  Sapp  ;  Ninth 
District,  Addison  Oliver. 

WAR  RECORD. 

The  State  of  Iowa  may  well  he  proud  of  her  record  during  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion,  from  1S61  to  1865.  The  following  brief  but  comprehensive  sketch  of 
the  hibtory  she  made  during  that  trying  period  is  largely  from  the  pen  of  Col.  A. 
P.  Wood,  of  Dubuque,  the  author  of ''  The  History  of  Iowa  and  the  War,"  one 
of  the  best  works  of  the  kind  yet  written. 

"Whether  in  the  promptitude  of  her  responses  to  the  calls  made  on  her  by 
the  Gre-ieral  Government,  in  the  courage  and  constancy  of  her  soldiery  in  the 
field,  or  in  the  wisdom  and  efficiency  with  which  her  civil  administration  was 
conduct  d  during  the  trying  period  covered  by  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  Iowa 
proved  .  erself  the  peer  of  any  loyal  State.  The  proclamation  of  her  Governor, 
responsive  to  that  of  the  President,  calling  for  volunteers  to  compose  her  First 
Regiment,  was  issued  on  the  fourth  day  after  the  fall  of  Sumter.  At  the  end 
of  only  a  single  week,  men  enough  were  reported  to  be  in  quarters  (mostly  in 
the  vicinity  of  their  own  homes)  to  fill  the  regiment.  These,  however,  were 
hardly  more  than  a  tithe  of  the  number  who  had  been  off'ered  by  company  com- 
manders for  acceptance  under  the  President's  call.  So  urgent  were  these  offers 
that  the  Governor  requested  (on  the  24th  of  April)  permission  to  organize  an 
additional  regiment.  While  awaiting  an  answer  to  this  request,  he  conditionally 
accepted  a  sufficient  number  of  companies  to  compose  two  additional  regiments. 
In  a  short  time,  he  was  notified  that  both  of  these  would  be  accepted.  Soon 
after  the  completion  of  the  Second  and  Third  Regiments  (which  was  near  the 
close  of  May),  the  Adjutant  General  of  the  State  reported  that  upward  of  one 
hundred  and  seventy  companies  had  been  tendered  to  the  Governor  to  serve 
against  the  enemies  of  the  Union. 

"  Much  difficulty  and  considerable  delay  occured  in  fitting  these  regiments 
for  the  field.  For  the  First  Infantry  a  complete  outfit  (not  uniform)  of  clothino- 
was  extemporized — principally  by  the  volunteered  labor  of  loyal  women  in  the 
different  towns — from  material  of  various  colors  and  qualities,  obtained  within 
the  limits  of  the  State.  The  same  was  done  in  part  for  the  Second  Infantry. 
Meantime,  an  extra  session  of  the  General  Assembly  had  been  called  by  the 
Governor,  to  convene  on  the  loth  of  May.  With  but  little  delav,  that'^body 
au':horized  a  loan  of  $800,000,  to  meet  the  extraordinary  expenses  incurred,  and 
to  be  incurred,  by  the  Executive  Department,  in  consequence  of  the  new  emer- 
gency. A  wealthy  merchant  of  the  State  (Ex-Governor  Merrill,  then  a  resident 
of  iNIcGregor)  immediately  took  from  the  Governor  a  contract  to  supply  a  com- 
plete outfit  of  clothing  for  the  three  regiments  organized,  agreeino-  to  receive, 
should  the  Governor  so  elect,  his  pay  therefor  in  State  bonds  at  par.      This  con- 


230  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

tract  he  executed  to  tlie  letter,  and  a  portion  of  the  clothing  (which  Avas  manu- 
factured in  Boston,  to  his  order)  was  delivered  at  Keokuk,  the  place  at  which 
the  troops  had  rendezvoused,  in  exactly  one  month  from  the  day  on  which  the 
contract  had  been  entered  into.  The  remainder  arrived  only  a  few  days  later. 
This  clothing  was  delivered  to  the  regiment,  but  was  subsequently  condemned 
by  the  Government,  for  the  reason  that  its  color  was  gray,  and  blue  had  been 
adopted  as  the  color  to  be  worn  by  the  national  troops." 

Other  Stat€S  also  clothed  their  troops,  sent  forward  under  the  first  call  of 
President  Lincoln,  with  gray  uniforms,  but  it  was  soon  found  that  the  con- 
federate forces  were  also  clothed  in  gray,  and  that  color  was  at  once  abandoned 
by  the  Union  troops.  If  both  armies  were  clothed  alike,  annoying  if  not  fatal 
mistakes  were  liable  to  be  made. 

But  while  engaged  in  these  efforts  to  discharge  her  whole  duty  in  common  with 
all  the  other  Union-loving  States  in  the  great  emergency,  Iowa  was  compelled 
to  make  immediate  and  ample  provision  for  the  protection  of  her  own  borders, 
from  threatened  invasion  on  the  south  by  the  Secessionists  of  INIissouri,  and 
from  danger  of  incursions  from  the  west  and  northwest  by  bands  of  hostile 
Indians,  who  were  freed  from  the  usual  restraint  imposed  upon  them  by  the 
presence  of  regular  troops  stationed  at  the  frontier  posts.  These  troops  were 
withdrawn  to  meet  the  greater  and  more  pressing  danger  threatening  the  life  of 
the  nation  at  its  very  heart. 

To  provide  for  the  adequate  defense  of  her  borders  from  the  ravages  of  both 
rebels  in  ai*ms  against  the  Government  and  of  the  more  irresistible  foes  from 
the  Western  plains,  the  Governor  of  the  State  was  authorized  to  raise  and  equip 
two  regiments  of  infantry,  a  squadron  of  cavalry  (not  less  than  five  companies) 
and  a  battalion  of  artillery  (not  less  than  three  companies.)  Only  cavalry  were 
enlisted  for  home  defense,  however,  "but,"  says  Col.  Wood,  "in  times  of  special 
danger,  or  when  calls  were  made  by  the  Unionists  of  Northern  Missouri  for 
assistance  against  their  disloyal  enemies,  large  numbers  of  militia  on  foot  often 
turned  out,  and  remained  in  the  field  until  the  necessity  for  their  services  had 
passed. 

"  The  first  order  for  the  Iowa  volunteers  to  move  to  the  field  was  received 
on  the  loth  of  June.  It  was  issued  by  Gen.  Lyon,  then  commanding  the 
United  States  forces  in  Missouri.  The  First  and  Second  Infantry  immediately 
embarked  in  steamboats,  and  moved  to  Hannibal.  Some  two  weeks  later,  the 
Third  Infantry  was  ordered  to  the  same  point.  These  three,  together  with 
many  other  of  the  earlier  organized  Iowa  regiments,  rendered  their  fii'st  field 
service  in  jNIissouri.  The  First  Infantry  formed  a  part  of  the  little  army  with 
which  Gen.  Lyon  moved  on  Springfield,  and  fought  the  bloody  battle  of  Wilson's 
Creek.  It  received  unqualified  praise  for  its  gallant  bearing  on  the  field.  In 
the  following  month  (September),  the  Third  loAva,  with  but  very  slight  support, 
fought  with  honor  the  sanguinary  engagement  of  Blue  Mills  Landing ;  and  in 
November,  the  Seventh  Iowa,  as  a  part  of  a  force  commanded  by  Gen.  Grant, 
greatly  distinguished  itself  in  the  battle  of  Belmont,  where  it  poured  out  its 
blood  like  water — losing  more  than  half  of  the  men  it  took  into  action, 

"  The  initial  operations  in  which  the  battles  referred  to  took  place  were  fol- 
lowed by  the  more  important  movements  led  by  Gen.  Grant,  Gen.  Curtis,  of 
this  State,  and  other  commanders,  which  resulted  in  defeating  the  armies 
defending  the  chief  strategic  lines  held  by  the  Confederates. in  Kentucky,  Tenn- 
nessee,  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  and  compelling  their  Avithdrawal  from  much  of 
the  territory  previously  controlled  by  them  in  those  States.  In  these  and  other 
movements,  down  to  the  grand  culmiTiating  campaign  by  which  Yicksburg  was 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  231 

captured  and  the  Confederacy  permanently  severed  on  the  line  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  Iowa  troops  took  part  in  steadily  increasing  numbers.  In  the  investment 
and  siege  of  Vicksburg,  the  State  was  represented  by  thirty  regiments  and  two 
batteries,  in  addition  to  which,  eight  regiments  and  one  battery  were  employed 
on  the  outposts  of  the  besieging  army.  The  brilliancy  of  their  exploits  on  the 
many  fields  where  they  served  won  for  them  the  highest  meed  of  praise,  both 
in  military  and  civil  circles.  Multiplied  Avere  the  terms  in  which  expi-ession 
was  given  to  this  sentiment,  but  these  words  of  one  of  the  journals  of  a  neigh- 
boring State,  '  The  Iowa  troops  have  been  heroes  among  heroes,'  embody  the 
spirit  of  all. 

"  In  the  veteran  re-enlistments  that  distinguished  the  closing  months  of  1863 
above  all  other  periods  in  the  history  of  re-enlistments  for  the  national  armies^ 
the  Iowa  three  years'  men  (who  were  relatively  more  numerous  than  those  of  any 
other  State)  were  prompt  to  set  the  example  of  volunteering  for  another  term  of 
equal  length,  thereby  adding  many  thousands  to  the  great  army  of  those  who' 
gave  this  renewed  and  practical  assurance  that  the  cause  of  the  Union  should 
not  be  left  without  defenders. 

"  In  all  the  important  movements  of  1864-65,  by  which  the  Confederacy 
was  penetrated  in  every  quarter,  and  its  military  power  finally  overthrown,  the 
Iowa  troops  took  part.  Their  drum-beat  was  heard  on  the  banks  of  every  great 
river  of  the  South,  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  everywhere  they 
rendered  the  same  faithful  and  devoted  service,  maintaining  on  all  occasions  their 
wonted  reputation  for  valor  in  the  field  and  endurance  on  the  march. 

"  Two  Iowa  three-year  cavalry  regiments  were  employed  during  theii'  whole 
term  of  service  in  the  operations  that  were  in  progress  from  1863  to  1866 
against  the  hostile  Indians  of  the  western  plains.  A  portion  of  these  men  were 
among  the  last  of  the  volunteer  troops  to  be  mustered  out  of  service.  The  State 
also  supplied  a  considerable  number  of  men  to  the  navy,  who  took  part  in  most 
of  the  naval  operations  prosecuted  against  the  Confederate  power  on  the  Atlantic 
and  Gulf  coasts,  and  the  rivers  of  the  West. 

"  The  people  of  Iowa  were  early  and  constant  workers  in  the  sanitary  field,, 
and  by  their  liberal  gifts  and  personal  eff"orts  for  the  benefit  of  the  soldiery, 
placed  their  State  in  the  front  rank  of  those  who  became  distinguished  for  their 
exhibitions  of  patriotic  benevolence  during  the  period  covered  by  the  war. 
Agents  appointed  by  the  Governor  were  stationed  at  points  convenient  for  ren- 
dering assistance  to  the  sick  and  needy  soldiers  of  the  State,  while  others  were 
employed  in  visiting,  from  time  to  time,  hospitals,  camps  and  armies  in  the  field,, 
and  doing  whatever  the  circumstances  rendered  possible  for  the  health  and 
comfort  of  such  of  the  Iowa  soldiery  as  might  be  found  there. 

"  Some  of  the  benevolent  people  of  the  State  early  conceived  the  idea  of 
establishing  a  Home  for  such  of  the  children  of  deceased  soldiers  as  might  be 
left  in  destitute  circumstances.  This  idea  first  took  form  in  1863,  and  in  the 
following  year  a  Home  was  opened  at  Farmington,  Van  Buren  County,  in  a- 
building  leased  for  that  purpose,  and  which  soon  became  filled  to  its  utmost 
capacity.  The  institution  received  liberal  donations  from  the  general  public,. 
and  also  from  the  soldiers  in  the  field.  In  1865,  it  became  necessary  to  pro- 
vide increased  accommodations  for  the  large  number  of  children  who  Avere 
seeking  the  benefits  of  its  care.  This  was  done  by  establishing  a  branch 
at  Cedar  Falls,  in  Black  Hawk  County,  and  by  securing,  during  the  same 
year,  for  the  use  of  the  parent  Home,  Camp  Kinsman  near  the  City  of 
Davenport.  This  property  was  soon  afterward  donated  to  the  institution,  by 
act  of  Cono;ress. 


232  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

"  In  1866,  in  pursuance  of  a  law  enacted  for  that  purpose,  the  Soldiers' 
Orphans'  Home  (which  then  contained  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  inmates) 
became  a  State  institution,  and  thereafter  the  sums  necessary  for  its  support  were 
appropriated  from  the  State  treasury.  A  second  branch  was  established  at 
Glenwood,  Mills  County.  Convenient  tracts  were  secured,  and  valuable  improve- 
ments made  at  all  the  different  points.  Schools  were  also  established,  and  em- 
ployments provided  for  such  of  the  children  as  were  of  suitable  age.  In  all 
ways  the  provision  made  for  these  wards  of  the  State  has  been  such  as  to  chal- 
lenge the  approval  of  every  benevolent  mind.  The  number  of  children  who 
have  been  inmates  of  the  Home  from  its  foundation  to  the  present  time  is 
considerably  more  than  two  thousand. 

"  At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  the  population  of  Iowa  included  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  presumably  liable  to  render  military  service. 
The  State  raised,  for  general  service,  thirty-nine  regiments  of  infantry,  nine 
regiments  of  cavalry,  and  four  companies  of  artillery,  composed  of  three  years' 
men  ;  one  regiment  of  infantry,  composed  of  three  months'  men;  and  four  regi- 
ments and  one  battalion  of  infantry,  composed  of  one  hundred  days'  men.  The 
original  enlistments  in  these  various  organizations,  including  seventeen  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  men  raised  by  draft,  numbered  a  little  more  than  sixty-nine 
thousand.  The  re-enlistments,  including  upward  of  seven  thousand  veterans, 
numbered  very  nearly  eight  thousand.  The  enlistments  in  the  regular  army 
and  navy,  and  organizations  of  other  States,  will,  if  added,  raise  the  total  to 
upward  of  eighty  thousand.  The  number  of  men  who,  under  special  enlistments, 
and  as  militia,  took  part  at  difi"erent  times  in  the  operations  on  the  exposed 
borders  of  the  State,  was  probably  as  many  as  five  thousand. 

"  Iowa  paid  no  bounty  on  account  of  the  men  she  placed  in  the  field.  In 
some  instances,  toward  the  close  of  the  war,  bounty  to  a  comparatively  small 
amount  was  paid  by  cities  and  towns.  On  only  one  occasion — that  of  the  call 
of  July  18,  1864 — was  a  draft  made  in  Iowa.  This  did  not  occur  on  account  of 
her  proper  liability,  as  established  by  previous  rulings  of  the  War  Department, 
to  supply  men  under  that  call,  but  grew  out  of  the  great  necessity  that  there 
existed  for  raising  men.  The  Government  insisted  on  temporarily  setting  aside, 
in  part,  the  former  rule  of  settlements,  and  enforcing  a  draft  in  all  cases  where 
subdistricts  in  any  of  the  States  should  be  found  deficient  in  their  supply  of 
men.  In  no  instance  was  Iowa,  as  a  whole,  found  to  be  indebted  to  the  General 
Government  for  men,  on  a  settlement  of  her  quota  accounts." 

It  is  to  be  said  to  the  honor  and  credit  of  Iowa  that  while  many  of  the  loyal 
States,  older  and  larger  in  population  and  wealth,  incurred  heavy  State  debts 
for  the  purpose  of  fulfilling  their  obligations  to  the  General  Government,  Iowa, 
while  she  was  foremost  in  duty,  while  she  promptly  discharged  all  her  obligations 
to  her  sister  States  and  the  Union,  found  herself  at  the  close  of  the  war  without 
any  material  addition  to  her  pecuniary  liabilities  incurred  before  the  war  com- 
menced. Upon  final  settlement  after  the  restoration  of  peace,  her  claims  upon 
the  Federal  Government  were  found  to  be  fully  equal  to  the  amount  of  her  bonds 
issued  and  sold  dui'ing  the  war  to  provide  the  means  for  raising  and  equipping 
her  troops  sent  into  the  field,  and  to  meet  the  inevitable  demands  upon  her 
treasury  in  consequence  of  the  war. 


HISTOEY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  233 

INFANTRY. 

THE    FIRST    INFANTRY 

was  organized  under  the  President's  first  proclamation  for  volunteers  for  three 
months,  with  John  Francis  Bates,  of  Dubuque,  as  Colonel ;  William  H.  Mer- 
ritt,  of  Cedar  Rapids,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  A.  B.  Porter,  of  Mt.  Pleas- 
ant, as  Major.  Companies  A  and  C  were  from  Muscatine  County;  Company 
B,  from  Johnson  County;  Companies  D  and  E,  from  Des  Moines  County; 
Company  F,  fi'om  Henry  County;  Company  G,  from  Davenport;  Companies 
H  and  I,  from  Dubuque,  and  Company  K,  from  Linn  County,  and  were  mus- 
tered into  United  States  service  May  14,  1861,  at  Keokuk.  The  above  com- 
panies were  independent  military  organizations  before  the  war,  and  tendered 
their  services  before  breaking-out  of  hostilities.  The  First  was  engaged  at  the 
battle  of  Wilson's  Creek,  under  Gen.  Lyon,  where  it  lost  ten  killed  and  fifty 
wounded.     Was  mustered  out  at  St.  Louis  Aug.  25,  1861. 

THE    SECOND    INFANTRY 

was  organized,  with  Samuel  R.  Curtis,  of  Keokuk,  as  Colonel;  Jas.  M.  Tuttle, 
of  Keosauqua,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  M.  M.  Crocker,  of  Des  Moines,  as 
Major,  and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at  Keokuk  in  May, 
1861.  Company  A  was  from  Keokuk;  Company  B,  from  Scott  County;  Com- 
pany C,  from  Scott  County  ;  Company  D,  from  Des  Moines  ;  Company  E,  from 
Fairfield,  Jefi'erson  Co. ;  Company  F,  from  Van  Buren  County ;  Company  G, 
from  Davis  County;  Company  H,  from  Washington  County;  Company  I,  from 
Clinton  County  ;  and  Company  K,  from  Wapello  County.  It  participated  in  the 
following  engagements  :  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh,  advance  on  Corinth,  Corinth, 
Little  Bear  Creek,  Ala.;  Tunnel  Creek,  Ala.;  Resaca,  Ga.;  Rome  Cross  Roads, 
Dallas,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Nick-a-Jack  Creek,  in  front  of  Atlanta,  January  22, 
1864 ;  siege  of  Atlanta,  Jonesboro,  Eden  Station,  Little  Ogeechee,  Savannah, 
Columbia,  S.  C. ;  Lynch's  Creek,  and  Bentonsville.  Was  on  Sherman's  march 
to  the  sea,  and  through  the  Carolinas  home.  The  Second  Regiment  of  Iowa 
Infantry  Veteran  Volunteers  was  formed  by  the  consolidation  of  the  battalions 
of  the  Second  and  Third  Veteran  Infantry,  and  was  mustered  out  at  Louisville, 
Ky.,  July  12,  1865. 

THE    THIRD    INFANTRY 

was  organized  with  N.  G.  Williams,  of  Dubuque  County,  as  Colonel ;  John 
Scott,  of  Story  County,  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  Wni.  N.  Stone,  of  Marion  County, 
Major,  and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  in  May,  1861,  at 
Keokuk.  Company  A  was  from  Dubuque  County ;  Company  B,  from  Marion 
County  ;  Company  C,  from  Clayton  County ;  Company  D,  from  Winneshiek 
County  ;  Company  E,  from  Boone,  Story,  Marshall  and  Jasper  Counties  ;  Com- 
pany F,  from  Fayette  County  ;  Company  G,  from  Warren  County ;  Company  II, 
from  Mahaska  County  ;  Company  I,  from  Floyd,  Butler  Black  Hawk  and 
Mitchell  Counties,  and  Company  K  from  Cedar  Falls.  It  was  engaged  at  Blu« 
Mills,  Mo. ;  Shiloh,  Tenn. ;  Ilatchie  River,  Matamoras,  Vicksburg,  Johnson, 
Miss.,  Meridian  expedition,  and  Atlanta,  Atlanta  campaign  and  Sherman's 
march  to  Savannah,  and  through  the  Carolinas  to  Richmond  and  Washington. 
The  veterans  of  the  Third  Iowa  Infantry  were  consolidated  with  the  Second, 
and  mustered  out  at  Louisville,  Kv.,  Julv  12,  18ti4. 


234  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

THE    FOURTH    INFANTRY 

was  organized  with  G.  M.  Dodge,  of  Council  Bluffs,  as  Colonel ;  John 
Galligan,  of  Davenport,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  Wm.  R.  English,  Glenwood, 
as  Major.  Company  A,  from  Mills  County,  was  mustered  in  at  Jefferson  Bar- 
Tacks,  Missouri,  August  15,  1861 ;  Company  B,  Pottawattamie  County,  was 
mustered  in  at  Council  Bluifs,  August  8,  186]  ;  Company  C,  Guthrie  County, 
mustered  in  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  Mo.,  May  3,  1861  ;  Company  D,  Decatur 
County,  at  St.  Louis,  August  16th  ;  Company  E,  Polk  County,  at  Council 
Bluffs,  August  8th ;  Company  F,  Madison  County,  Jefferson  Barracks,  August 
15th ;  Company  G,  Ringgold  County,  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  August  15th  ; 
Company  H,  Adams  County,  Jefferson  Barracks,  August  15th;  Company  I, 
Wayne  County,  at  St.  Louis,  August  31st;  Company  K,  Taylor  and  Page 
Counties,  at  St.  Louis,  August  31st.  Was  engaged  at  Pea  Ridge,  Chickasaw 
Bayou,  Arkansas  Post,  Vicksburg,  Jackson,  Lookout  Mountain,  Missionary 
Ridge,  Ringgold,  Resaca,  Taylor's  Ridge;  came  home  on  veteran  furlough 
February  26,  1864.  Returned  in  April,  and  was  in  the  campaign  against 
Atlanta,  and  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea,  and  thence  through  the  Carolinas 
to  Washington'  and  home.  Was  mustered  out  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  July 
2i,  1865.  ^ 

THE    FIFTH    INFANTRY 

was  organized  with  Wm.  H.  Worthington,  of  Keokuk,  as  Colonel;  C  Z.  Mat- 
thias, of  Burlington,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel;  W.  S.  Robertson,  of  Columbus  City, 
as  Major,  and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service,  at  Burlington,  July 
15,  1861.  Company  A  was  from  Cedar  County;  Company  B,  from  Jaspe'r 
County ;  Company  C,  from  Louisa  County ;  Company  D,  from  Marshall  County ; 
Company  E,  from  Buchanan  County ;  Company  F,  from  Keokuk  County  ;  Com- 
pany G,  from  Benton  County  ;  Company  H,  from  Van  Buren  County ;  Company 
I,  from  Jackson  County  ;  Company  K,  from  Allamakee  County  ;  was  engaged  at 
jSTew  Madrid,  siege  of  Corinth,  luka,  Corinth,  Champion  Hills,  siege  of  Vicks- 
burg, Chickamauga ;  went  home  on  veteran  furlough,  April,  1864.  The  non- 
veterans  went  home  July,  1864,  leaving  180  veterans  who  were  transferred  to 
the  Fifth  Iowa  Cavalry.  The  Fifth  Cavalry  was  mustered  out  at  Nashville, 
Tennessee,  Aug.  11,  1865. 

THE    SIXTH    INFANTRY. 

was  mustered  into  the  service  July  6,  1861,  at  Burlington,  with  John  A. 
McDowell,  of  Keokuk,  as  Colonel ;  Markoe  Cummins,  of  Muscatine,  Lieuten- 
ant Colonel ;  John  M.  Corse,  of  Burlington,  Major.  Company  A  was  from 
Linn  County;  Company  B,  from  Lucas  and  Clarke  Counties;  Company  C, 
from  Hardin  County ;  Company  D,  from  Appanoose  County  ;  Company  E, 
from  Monroe  County ;  Company  F,  from  Clarke  County  ;  Company  G,  from 
Johnson  County ;  Company  H,  from  Lee  County ;  Company  I,  from  Des 
Moines  County  ;  Company  K,  from  Henry  County.  It  was  engaged  at  Shiloh, 
Mission  Ridge,  Resaca.  Dallas,  Big  Shanty,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Jackson,  Black 
River  Bridge,  Jones'  Ford,  etc.,  etc.  The  Sixth  lost  7  officers  killed  in  action,  18 
wounded  ;  of  enlisted  men  102  were  killed  in  action,  30  died  of  wounds,  124  of 
disease,  211  were  discharged  for  disability  and  301  were  Avounded  in  action, 
which  was  the  largest  list  of  casualties,  of  both  officers  and  men,  of  any  reg- 
iment from  Iowa.     Was  mustered  out  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  July  21,  1865. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  235 


THE    SEVENTH    INFANTRY 


was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at  Burlington,  July  24,  1861, 
with  J.  G.  Lauman,  of  Burlington,  as  Colonel ;  Augustus  Wentz,  of  Daven- 
port, as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  E.  W.  Rice,  of  Oskaloosa,  as  Major.  Com- 
pany A  was  from  Muscatine  County  ;  Company  B,  from  Chickasaw  and  Floyd 
Counties  ;  Company  C,  from  Mahaska  County  ;  Companies  D  and  E,  from  Lee 
County  ;  Company  F,  from  Wapello  County  ;  Company  G,  from  Iowa  County  ; 
Company  H,  from  Washington  County ;  Company  I,  from  Wapello  County ; 
Company  K,  from  Keokuk.  Was  engaged  at  the  battles  of  Belmont  (in  which 
it  lost  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing  237  men).  Fort  Henry,  Fort  Donelson, 
Shiloh,  siege  of  Corinth,  Corinth,  Rome  Cross  Roads,  Dallas,  New  Hope 
Church,  Big  Shanty,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Nick-a-Jack  Creek,  siege  of  Atlanta, 
battle  on  22d  of  July  in  front  of  Atlanta,  Sherman's  campaign  to  the  ocean, 
through  the  Carolinas  to  Richmond,  and  thence  to  Louisville.  Was  mustered 
out  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  July  12,  1865. 


[HE    EIGHTH    INFANTRY 


was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  Sept.  12,  1861,  at  Davenport, 
Iowa,  with  Frederick  Steele,  of  the  regular  army,  as  Colonel ;  James  L.  Geddes, 
of  Vinton,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  J.  C.  Ferguson,  of  Knoxville,  as  Major. 
Company  A  was  from  Clinton  County ;  Company  B,  from  Scott  County  ; 
Company  C,  from  Washington  County  ;  Company  D,  from  Benton  and  Linn 
Counties;  Company  E,  from  Marion  County;  Company  F,  from  Keokuk 
County ;  Company  G,  from  Iowa  and  Johnson  Counties ;  Company  H.  from 
Mahaska  County ;  Company  I,  from  Monroe  County  ;  Company  K,  from  Lou- 
isa County.  Was  engaged  at  the  following  battles  :  Shiloh  (where  most  of  the 
regiment  were  taken  prisoners  of  war),  Corinth,  Vicksburg,  Jackson  and  Span- 
ish Fort.  Was  mustered  out  of  the  United  States  service  at  Selma,  Alabama, 
April  20,  1866. 

THE   NINTH    INFANTRY 

was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  September  24,  1861,  at  Dubuque, 
with  Wm.  Vandever,  of  Dubuque,  Colonel ;  Frank  G.  Herron,  of  Dubuque, 
Lieutenant  Colonel :  Wm.  H.  Coyle,  of  Decorah,  Major.  Company  A  was 
from  Jackson  County  ;  Company  B,  from  Jones  County  ;  Company  C,  from  Bu- 
chanan County ;  Company  D,  from  Jones  County ;  Company  E,  from  Clayton 
County ;  Company  F,  from  Fayette  County  ;  Company  G,  from  Black  Hawk 
County  ;  Company  H,  from  Winneshiek  County ;  Company  I,  from  Howard 
County  and  Company  K,  from  Linn  County.  Was  in  the  following  engage- 
ments": Pea  Ridge,  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Arkansas  Post,  siege  of  Vicksburg, 
Ringgold,  Dallas,  Lookout  Mountain,  Atlanta  campaign,  Sherman's  march  to 
the  sea,  and  through  North  and  South  Carolina  to  Richmond.  Was  mustered 
out  at  Louisville,  July  18,  1865. 

THE    TENTH    INFANTRY 

was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at  Iowa  City  September  6,  1861, 
with  Nicholas  Perczel,  of  Davenport,  as  Colonel ;  W.  E.  Small,  of  Iowa  City, 
as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  and  John  C.  Bennett,  of  Polk  County,  as  Major.  Com- 
pany A  was  from  Polk  County ;  Company  B,  from  Warren  County  ;  Company 
C,  from  Tama  County  ;  Company  D,  from  Boone  County ;  Company  E,  from 
Washington  County ;  Company  F,  from  Poweshiek  County ;  Company  G,  from 


236  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

Warren  County :  Company  IT,  from  Groono  County  ;  Company  I,  from  Jasper 
County  :  Company  K,  from  Polk  and  Madison  Counties.  Participated  in  the 
following  engagements  :  Siege  of  Corintli,  luka,  Corinth,  Port  Gibson,  Ray- 
mond, Jackson,  Champion  Hills,  Yicksburg  and  JNIission  Ridge.  In  Septem- 
ber, IStU.  the  non-veterans  being  mustered  out,  the  veterans  were  transferred 
to  the  Fifth  Iowa  Cavalry,  -where  will  be  found  their  future  operations. 

THE    ELEVENTH   INFANTRY 

was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  in  September 
and  October,  ISGl,  with  A.  ^I.  Hare,  of  Muscatine,  as  Colonel ;  Jno.  C.  Aber- 
crombie,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  "Wm.  Hall,  of  Davenport,  as  Major.  Com- 
pany A  Avas  from  Muscatine  ;  Company  B,  from  Marshall  and  Hardin  Counties ; 
Company  C,  from  Louisa  County ;  Company  D,  from  Muscatine  County  ;  Com- 
pany E,  from  Cedar  County  ;  Company  F,  from  Washington  County  ;  Company 
G,  from  Henry  County ;  Company  II,  from  Muscatine  County  ;  Company  I 
from  Muscatine  County  ;  Company  K,  from  Linn  County.  Was  engaged  in  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  siege  of  Corinth,  battles  of  Corinth,  Yicksburg,  Atlanta  cam- 
paign, battle  of  Atlanta,  July  '2'2,  1864.  Was  mustered  out  at  Louisville,  Kv.. 
Jul}^  15,  18G5. 

THE  TWELFTH  INFANTRY 

was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  November  25,  1861.  at  Dubuque, 
with  J.  J.  Wood,  of  IMaquoketa,  as  Colonel ;  John  P.  Coulter,  of  Cedar  Rapids, 
Lieutenant  Colonel ;  Samuel  D.  Brodtbeck,  of  Dubuque,  as  Major.  Company 
A  was  from  Hardin  County  :  Company  B,  from  Allamakee  County  ;  Company  C, 
from  Fayette  County;  Company  D,  from  Linn  County  :  Company  E,  from  Black 
Hawk  County  ;  Company  F,  from  Delaware  Counry  ;  Company  G,  from  AVinne- 
shiek  County  ;  Company  H,  from  Dubuque  and  Delaware  Counties ;  Company 
I,  from  Dubuque  and  Jackson  Counties  :  Company  K,  from  Delaware  County. 
It  was  engaged  at  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh,  where  most  of  the  regiment  was 
captured,  and  those  not  captured  were  organized  in  what  was  called  the  Union 
Brigade,  and  Avere  in  the  battle  of  Corinth ;  the  prisoners  were  exchanged 
November  10,  1862,  and  the  regiment  re-organized,  and  then  participating  in 
the  siege  of  Yicksburg,  battle  of  Tupelo.  !Miss.:  White  River,  Nashville  and 
Spanish  Fort.    The  regiment  was  mustered  out  at  Memphis,  January  20,  1866. 


THE    TUlKTEENXn   INFANTRY 

was  mustered  in  November  1,  1861,  at  Davenport,  with  INI.  M.  Crocker,  of  Des 
Moines,  as  Colonel;  M.  M.  Price,  of  Davenport,  Lieutenant  Colonel:  John 
Shane,  \'inton.  Major.  Company  A  was  from  Mt.  Yernon  ;  Company  B,  from 
Jasper  County  ;  Company  C,  from  Lucas  County  ;  Company  D,  from  Keokuk 
County  :  Company  E,  from  Scott  County ;  Company  F,  from  Scott  and  Linn 
Counties ;  Company  G,  from  Benton  County ;  Company  II,  froui  ^larshall  County ; 
Company  I,  froui  Washington  County ;  Company  K,  from  Washington  County. 
It  participated  in  the  following  engagements  :  Shiloh,  siege  of  Corinth,  Corinth, 
Kenesaw  Mountain,  siege  of  Yicksburg,  Campaign  against  Atlanta.  Was  on 
Sherman's  march  to  the  sea,  auil  through  North  and  South  Carolina.  Was 
mustered  out  at  Louisville  July  21.  1865. 


Till'    FOrilTEEXTn    INFANTRY 


was  mustered  in  the  United  States  service  October,  1861,  at  Davenport,  with 
Wm.  T.  Shaw,  of  Anamosa,  as   Colonel ;    Edward  W.  Lucas,  of  Iowa  Citv.  as 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  237 

Lieutenant  Colonel;  Hiram  Leonard,  of  Des  Moines  County,  as  Major.  Com- 
pany A  was  from  Scott  County ;  Company  B,  from  Bremer  County  ;  Company 
D,  from  Henry  and  Van  Buren  Counties ;  Company  E,  from  Jasper  County  ; 
Company  F,  from  Van  Buren  and  Henry  Counties ;  Company  G,  from  Tama  and 
Scott  Counties;  Company  H,  from  Linn  County;  Company  I,  from  Henry 
County  ;  Company  K,  from  Des  Moines  County.  Participated  in  the  follow- 
ing engagements  :  Ft.  Donelson,  Shiloh,  Corinth  (where  most  of  the  regiment 
were  taken  prisoners  of  war),  Pleasant  Hill,  Meridian,  Ft.  De  Russey,  Tupelo, 
Town  Creek,  Tallahatchie,  Pilot  Knob,  Old  Town,  Yellow  Bayou,  etc.,  etc., 
and  was  mustered  out,  except  veterans  and  recruits,  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  No- 
vember 16,  1864. 

THE   FIFTEENTH   INFANTRY 

was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  March  19,  1862,  at  Keokuk,  with 
Hugh  T.  Reid,  of  Keokuk,  as  Colonel ;  Wra.  Dewey,  of  Fremont  County,  as 
Lieutenint  Colonel ;  W.  W.  Belknap,  of  Keokuk,  as  Major.  Company  A  was 
from  Linn  County;  Company  B,  from  Polk  County;  Company  C,  from  Mahaska 
County  ;  Company  D,  from  Wapello  County  ;  Company  E,  from  Van  Buren 
County ;  Company  F,  from  Fremont  and  Mills  Counties ;  Company  G,  from 
Marion  and  Warren  Counties  ;  Company  H,  from  Pottawattamie  and  Harrison 
Counties ;  Company  I,  from  Lee,  Van  Buren  and  Clark  Counties ;  Company  K, 
from  Wapello,  Van  Buren  and  Warren  Counties.  Participated  in  the  battle  of 
Shiloh,  siege  of  Corinth,  battles  of  Corinth,  Vicksburg,  campaign  against  At- 
lanta, battle  in  front  of  Atlanta,  July  22,  1864,  and  was  under  fire  during 
the  siege  of  Atlanta  eighty-one  days;  was  on  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea,  and 
through  the  Carolinas  to  Richmond,  Washington  and  Louisville,  where  it  was 
mustered  out,  August  1,  1864. 

THE   SIXTEENTH    INFANTRY 

0 

was  mustered  into  the  L^nited  States  service  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  December  10, 

1861,  Avith  Alexander  Chambers,  of  the  regular  army,  as  Colonel;  A.  H. 
Sanders,  of  Davenport,  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  Wm.  Purcell,  of  Muscatine. 
Major.  Company  A  was  from  Clinton  County  ;  Company  B.  from  Scott 
County ;  Company  C,  from  Muscatine  County ;  Company  D,  from  Boone  County ; 
Company  E,  from  Muscatine  County  ;  Company  F,  from  Muscatine,  Clinton  and 
Scott  Counties ;  Company  G,  from  Dubuque  County  :  Company  H,  from  Du- 
buque and  Clayton  Counties ;  Company  I,  from  Black  Hawk  and  Linn  Counties ; 
Company  K,  from  Lee  aid  INIuscatine  Counties.  Was  in  the  battles  of  Shiloh, 
siege  of  Corinth,  luka,  Corinth,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Nick-a-Jack  Creek,  battles 
around  Atlanta;  was  in  Sherman's  campaigns,  and  the  Carolina  campaigns. 
Was  mustered  out  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  July  19,  1865. 

THE   SEVENTEENTH    INFANTRY 

was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at  Keokuk,  in  March  and  April, 

1862,  with  Jno.  W.  Rankin,  of  Keokuk,  Colonel ;  D.  B.  Hillis,  of  Keokuk, 
as  Lieutenant  Colonel;  Samuel  M.  Wise,  of  Mt.  Pleasant,  Major.  Company 
A  was  from  Decatur  County;  Company  B,  from  Lee  County;  Company  C, 
from  Van  Buren,  Wapello  and  Lee  Counties ;  Company  D,  from  Des  Moines, 
Van  Buren  and  Jefterson  Counties;  Company  E,  from  Wapello  County;  Com- 
pany F,  from  Appanoose  County;  Company  G,  from  Marion  County;  Com- 
pany H,  from  Marion  and  Pottawattamie  Counties;  Company  I,  from  Jefi'erson 
and  Lee  Counties;   Company  K,  from  Lee  and  Polk  Counties.     They  were  in 


238  niSTOKY  OF  thk  statk  of  unvA. 

rlio  following  ougngomonts:  Siogo  of  Corinth,  luka,  Oorinth.  Jackson.  Cham- 
pion Hills,  Forr  Hill,  siogo  of  Nioksburg.  Mission  Kiiigo,  and  at  Tilton,  Oa., 
Oct.  lt\  18lU.  most  of  the  regiment  were  taken  prisoners  of  >Yar.  Wa^-i  mus- 
tered out  at  l.onisville.  Ky..  July  -o.  ISt^o. 

TIVK   EIGHTEENTH    INFANTRY 

wa^  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  August  o.  0  and  7,  1S6*2,  at  Clin- 
ton. ^vith  John  l\d\vards,  of  Chariton.  Colonel:  T.  Z.  Cook,  of  Cedar  Rapids, 
Lieutenant  Colonel:  Hugh  d.  Campbell,  of  Muscatine,  as  Major.  Company 
A,  was  from  Linn  and  various  other  counties  ;  Company  B,  from  Clark  County : 
Company  C,  from  l-ncas  County;  Company  D.  from  Keokuk  and  Wapello 
Counties  :  Company  E.  from  Muscatine  County:  Company  F,  from  Appanoose 
County:  Company  0.  from  Marion  and  AVarren  Counties:  Company  H,  from 
Fayette  ai\d  Benton  Counties:  Company  L  from  ^V ash ington  County:  Com- 
pany K,  from  ^Yapello,  Muscatine  and  Henry  Counties,  and  was  engt\ged  in 
the  battles  of  Springtield,  ^loscow.  Poison  Spring,  Ark.,  and  was  mustered  out 
at  Little  Kock.  Ark.,  duly  ilO,  18t>5. 

THE   NINETEENTH   INFANTRY 

was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  August  17,  ISt^i!.  at  Keokuk,  witli 
Benjamin  Crabb,  of  Washington,  as  Colonel :  Samuel  McFarland,  of  Mt.  Pleas- 
ant. Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  Haniel  Kent,  of  Ohio.  Major.  Company  A  was 
from  Lee  and  Van  Buren  Counties:  Company  B.  from  detferson  County:   Com- 


v«ivMc-.   ^  ai.  iv^i'iiii;,  J.  ii^.v.>(.>  xm  fi  c-vptMii  i<.'u.  cu'i  iiui;   L'aiiii,  lOfiiK'uutfr  _«',  .1011,0, 

at  which  place  they  surrendered:  three  othcers  and  eight  enlisted  men  were 
killed,  sixteen  enlisted  men  were  wounded,  and  eleven  othcei's  and  two  hundred 
and  three  enlisted  men  taken  prisonei-s  out  of  live  hundred  engtiged:  they 
were  exchanged  duly  i!ild.  and  joined  their  regiment  August  7th.  at  New  Or- 
leans. Was  engaged  at  Spanish  Fort.  Was  mustered  out  at  Mobile.  Ala.,  July 
10.  IStv^. 

THE  TWENTIETH   INFANTBY 

wa*  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  August  25,  18t>-.  at  Cliiuoxi,  with 
Wm.  McE.  l\ve.  of  Marion.  Linn  Co.,  as  Colonel :  J.  B.  Leek,  of  Davenport,  as 
liieutenant  Colonel,  and  Wm.  0.  Thompson,  of  Marion.  Linn  Co.,  as  Major. 
Companies  A,  B.  F,  11  and  1  were  fivm  Linn  County  :  (.^ompanies  C,  D.  E.  G 
and  K,  from  Scott  County,  and  was  engaged  in  the  following  battles:  Pnurio 
Orove,  and  assjuilt  on  Fort  Blakelv.  Was  mustered  out  at  Mobile,  Ala.,  July 
.^.  1865. 

THE   TWENTY -FIRST  INFANTRY 

was  mustered  into  the  service  at  Clinton  in  June  and  August.  lSt^-l.  with 
Samuel  Merrill  (^late  Ooveruvn-  of  lowa^i  as  Colonel :  Charles  W.  Dunlap,  of 
Mitchell,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel:  S.  0.  VanAnda.  of  Delhi,  as  Major.  Com- 
pany A  was  from  Mitchell  and  Black  Hawk  Counties  :  Company  B.  from 
Clayton  County ;  Company  C.  fron\  Dubuque  County :  Company  D.  from 
Clayton  County;  Oorapauy  E,  from  Dubu»|ue  County;  Oorapanv  F.  from  Du- 
buque County :   Companv  C.  fnMu  Clayton  County:   Company  ll.  from  Dela- 


HISTOUV   OF  THE  STATH  OF  IOWA.  239 

Avarc  County  ;  Company  1,  from  Dubuque  County  ;  Company  K,  from  Delaware 
County,  and  Avas  in  the  following  engagements  :  ilartsville,  Mo. ;  Black  River 
Bridge,  Fort  Beauregard,  was  at  the  siege  of  Vieksburg,  Mobile,  Fort  Blakely, 
and  was  nnistered  out  at  Baton  Rouge,  La.,  July  15,  18G5. 

THE    T\VENTY-SECOND    INFANTRY 

was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  Sept.  10,  1862,  at  Iowa  City,  with 
Wm.  M.  Stone,  of  Knoxville  (since  Governor  of  Iowa),  as  Colonel ;  J  no.  A. 
Garrett,  of  Newton,  Lieutenant  Colonel  ;  and  Harvey  Graham,  of  Iowa  City, 
as  Major.  Company  A  was  from  Johnscni  County  ;  Company  B,  Johnson 
County  ;  Company  C,  Jasper  County ;  Company  D,  Monroe  County  ;  Company 
E,  Wa})ello  County ;  Company  F,  Johnson  County ;  Company  G,  Johnson 
County  ;  Company  11,  Johnson  County  ;  Company  I,  Johnson  County  ;  Com- 
pany K.Johnson  County.  Was  engaged  at  Vieksburg.  Thompson's  Hill,  Cham- 
pion Hills,  Sherman's  campaign  to  Jackson,  at  Winchester,  in  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley, losing  100  men,  Fisher's  Hill  and  Cedar  Creek.  Mustered  out  at  Savannah, 
G*a..  July  25,  18(35. 

THE    TWENTY-THIRD    INFANTRY 

was  mustered  into  United  States  service  at  Des  Moines,  Sept.  19,  1862,  with 
AVilliam  Dewey,  of  Sidney,  as  Colonel;  W.  II.  Kinsman,  of  Council  Bluffs,  as 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  S.  L.  Glasgow,  of  Corydon,  as  Major.  Companies 
A,  B  and  C,  were  from  Polk  County:  Company  D,  from  Wayne  County;  Com- 
pany E,  from  Bottawattamie  County;  Company  F,  from  ]Montgomery  Count3" ; 
Company  G,  from  Jasper  County;  Company  II,  from  Madison  County;  Com- 
pany I,  from  Cass  County,  and  Company  K,  from  INIarshall  County.  Was  in 
Vieksburg,  and  engaged  at  Port  Gibson,  Black  River,  Champion  Hills,  A^'icks- 
burg,  Jackson,  INIilliken's  Bend,  Fort  Blakely,  and  was  mustered  out  at  Harris- 
burg,  Te.\as,  July  26,  1865 

THE   TWENTY-FOURTH 

was  mustered  into  United  States  service  at  ^luscatine,  September  18.  1862, 
Avith  Eber  C.  Byam,  of  Mount  Vernon,  as  Colonel;  John  Q.  Wilds,  of  Mount 
Vernon,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  Ed.  Wright',  of  Springdule,  as  Major. 
Oompiuiy  A  was  from  Jackson  and  Clinton  Counties ;  Companies  B  and  C, 
from  Cedar  County;  Company  D,  from  Washington,  Johnson  and  Cedar 
Counties;  Company  E,  from  Tama  County;  Companies  F,  G  and  H,  from 
Linn  County :  Company  I,  from  Jackson  County,  and  Company  K,  from  Jones 
County.  Was  engaged  at  Port  Gibson,  Champion  Hills,  Gen.  Banks'  Red 
River  expedition;  Winchester  and  Cedar  Creek.  Was  mustered  out  at  Savan- 
nah. Ga.,  July  17,  1865. 

THE    TWENTY-FIFTH    INFANTRY 

was  organized  with  George  A.  Stone,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  as  Colonel:  Fabian 
Brydoif  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  Calom  Taylor,  of  Bloomfield,  as  Major, 
and  was  mustered  into  United  States  service  at  Mount  Pleasant,  September  27. 
1862.  Companies  A  and  I  were  from  Washington  County;  Companies  B  and 
H,  from  Henry  County ;  Company  C,  Irom  Henry  and  Lee  Counties  ;  Com- 
panies D.  E  and  G,  from  Des  Moines  County :  Company  F,  from  Louisa 
County,  and  Company  K.  from  Des  Moines  and  Lee  Counties.  Was  engaged 
iit  Arkansas   Post.    Vicksburij,    Walnut  BluiV,   Chattanooga,    Campain,   Ring- 


240  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

gold,  Ga.,  Resaca,  Dallas,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  battles  around  Atlanta,  Love- 
joy  Station,  Jonesboro,  Ship's  Gap,  Bentonville,  and  on  Sherman's  march, 
through  Georgia  and  the  Carolmas,  to  Richmond  and  Washington.  Was 
mustered  out  at  Washington,  D.  C,  June  6,  1865. 

THE   TWENTY-SIXTH 

was  organized  and  mustered  in  at  Clinton,  in  August,  1862,  with  Milo  Smith,. 
of  Clinton,  as  Colonel ;  S.  G.  Magill^  of  Lyons,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and 
Samuel  Clark,  of  De  Witt,  as  Major.  Company  A  was  from  Clinton  and 
Jackson  Counties ;  Company  B,  from  Jackson  County ;  Companies  C,  D,  E, 
F,  G,  H,  I  and  K,  from  Clinton  County.  Was  engaged  at  Arkansas  Post,. 
Vicksburg,  Snake  Creek  Gap,  Ga.,  Resaca,  Dallas,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  De- 
catur, siege  of  Atlanta,  Ezra  Church,  Jonesboro,  Lovejoy  Station,  Ship's  Gap,, 
Sherman's  campaign  to  Savannah,  went  through  the  Carolinas,  and  was  mus- 
tered out  of  service  at  Washington,  D.  C,  June  6,  1865. 

THE   TWENTY-SEVENTH 

was  mustered  into  United  States  service  at  Dubuque,  Oct.  3, 1862,  with  James 
I.  Gilbert,  of  Lansing,  as  Colonel ;  Jed  Lake,  of  Independence,  as  Lieutenant 
Colonel ;  and  G.  W.  Howard,  of  Bradford,  as  Major.  Companies  A,  B  and  I 
were  from  Allamakee  County ;  Companies  C  and  H,  from  Buchanan  County ; 
Companies  D  and  E,  from  Clayton  County ;  Company  F,  from  Delaware 
County ;  Company  G,  from  Floyd  and  Chickasaw  Counties,  and  Company  K, 
from  Mitchell  County.  Engaged  at  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  was  on  Red  River  ex- 
pedition. Fort  De  Russey,  Pleasant  Hill,  Yellow  Bayou,  Tupelo,  Old  Town 
Creek  and  Fort  Blakely.      Was  mustered  out  at  Clinton,  Iowa,  Aug.  8,  1865. 

THE  TWENTY-EIGHTH 

was  organized  at  Iowa  City,  and  mustered  in  Nov.  10,  1862,  with  William  E. 
Miller,  of  Iowa  City,  as  Colonel;  John  Connell,  of  Toledo,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel, 
and  H.  B.  Lynch,  of  Millersburg,  as  Major.  Companies  A  and  D  were 
from  Benton  County  ;  Companies  B  and  G,  from  Iowa  County ;  Companies 
C,  H  and  I,  from  Poweshiek  County;  Company  E,  from  Johnson  County; 
Company  F,  from  Tama  County,  and  Company  K,  from  Jasper  County.  Was- 
engaged  at  Port  Gibson,  Jackson  and  siege  of  Vicksburg;  was  on  Baliks'  Red 
River  expedition,  and  engaged  at  Sabine  Cross  Roads ;  was  engaged  in  Shen- 
andoah Valley,  Va.,  and  engaged  at  Winchester,  Fisher's  Hill  and  Cedar  Creek. 
Was  mustered  out  of  service  at  Savannah,  Ga.,  July  31,  1865. 

THE   TWENTY-NINTH 

was  organized  at  Council  Bluffs,  and  musteted  into  the  United  States  service 
December  1,  1862,  with  Thomas  H.  Benton,  Jr.,  of  Council  Bluffs,  as  Colonel; 
R.  F.  Patterson,  of  Keokuk,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  and  Charles  B.  Shoe- 
maker, of  Clarinda,  as  Major.  Company  A  was  from  Pottawattamie  County; 
Company  B,  from  Pottawattamie  and  Mills  Counties ;  Comuany  C,  from  Harrison 
County ;  Company  D,  from  Adair  and  Adams  Counties ,  Company  E,  from 
Fremont  County  ;  Company  F,  from  Taylor  County ;  Company  G,  from  Ring- 
gold County.  Was  engaged  at  Helena,  Arkansas  and  Spanish  Fort.  Was 
mustered  out  at  New  Orleans  August  15,  1865. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  241 


THE   THIRTIETH    INFANTRY 

was  organized  at  Keokuk,  and  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  September 
23, 1862,  with  Charles  B.  Abbott,  of  Louisa  County,  as  Colonel;  Wm.  M.  G.  Tor- 
rence,  of  Keokuk,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  and  Lauren  Dewey,  of  Mt.  Pleasant,  as 
Major.  Companies  A  and  I  were  from  Lee  County ;  Company  B,  from  Davis 
County  ;  Compan;y  C,  from  Des  Moines  County  ;  Company  D,  from  Van  Buren 
County  ;  Companies  E  and  K  from  Washington  County ;  Company  F,  from 
Davis  County ;  and  Companies  G  and  H,  from  Jefferson  County.  Was 
engaged  at  Arkansas  Post,  Yazoo  City,  Vicksburg,  Cherokee,  Ala.,  Ringgold, 
Resaca,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Atlanta,  Lovejoy  Station,  Jonesboro,  Taylor's 
Ridge;  was  in  Sherman's  campaigns  to  Savannah  and  through  the  Carolinas  to 
Richmond ;  was  in  the  grand  review  at  Washington,  D.  C,  where  it  was  mus- 
tered out  June  5,  1865. 

THE   THIRTY-FIRST    INFANTRY 

was  mustered  into  the  service  at  Davenport  October  13,  1862,  with  William 
Smyth,  of  Marion,  as  Colonel ;  J.  W.  Jenkins,  of  Maquoketa,  as  Lieutenant 
Colonel ;  and  Ezekiel  Cutler,  of  Anamosa,  as  Major.  Company  A  was  from 
Linn  County;  Companies  B,  C  and  D,  from  Black  Hawk  County;  Companies 
E,  G  and  H,  from  Jones  County ;  Companies  F,  I  and  K,  from  Jackson  County. 
Was  engaged  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Arkansas  Post,  Raymond,  Jackson,  Black 
River,  Vicksburg,  Cherokee,  Lookout  Mountain,  Mission  Ridge,  Ringgold, 
Taylor's  Hills,  Snake  Creek  Gap,  Resaca,  Dallas,  New  Hope  Church,  Big 
Shanty,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Atlanta,  Jonesboro ;  was  in  Sherman's  campaign 
through  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas,  and  was  mustered  out  at  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, June  27,  1865 

THE   THIRTY-SECOND    INFANTRY 

was  organized  at  Dubuque,  with  John  Scott,  of  Nevada,  as  Colonel ;  E.  H. 
-Mix,  of  Shell  Rock,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  G.  A.  Eberhart,  of  Waterloo, 
as  Major.  Company  A  was  from  Hamilton,  Hardin  and  Wright  Counties ; 
Company  B,  from  Cerro  Gordo  County ;  Company  C,  from  Black  Hawk 
County  ;  Company  D,  from  Boone  County;  Company  E,  from  Butler  County; 
Company  F,  from  Hardin  County ;  Company  G,  from  Butler  and  Floyd  Coun- 
ties ;  Company  H,  from  Franklin  County ;  Company  I,  from  Webster  County, 
and  Company  K,  from  Marshall  and  Polk  Counties,  and  was  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service  October  5,  1862.  Was  engaged  at  Fort  De  Russey, 
Pleasant  Hill,  Tupelo,  Old  Town  Creek,  Nashville,  etc.,  and  was  mustered  out 
of  the  United  States  service  at  Clinton,  Iowa,  Aug.  24,  1865. 

THE   THIRTY-THIRD    INFANTRY 

was  organized  at  Oskaloosa,  with  Samuel  A.  Rice,  of  Oskaloosa,  as  Colonel ; 
Cyrus  H.  Maskey,  of  Sigourney,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  Hiram  D.  Gibson, 
of  Knoxville,  as  Major.  Companies  A  and  I  were  from  Marion  County;  Com- 
panies B,  F  and  H,  from  Keokuk  County ;  Companies  C,  D,  E  and  K,  from 
Makaska  County,  and  Company  G,  from  Marion,  Makaska  and  Polk  Counties, 
and  mustered  in  October  1,  1862.  Was  engaged  at  Little  Rock,  Helena,  Sa- 
line River,  Spanish  Fort  and  Yazoo  Pass.  Was  mustered  out  at  New  Orleans, 
July  17,  1865. 


242  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 


THE   THIRTY-FOURTH    INFANTRY' 

was  organized  with  George  W.  Clark,  of  Indianola,  as  Colonel ;  W.  S.  Dunsian^ 
of  Chariton,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  R.  D.  Kellogg,  of  Decatur  County,  as 
Major,  and  mustered  in  at  Burlington,  October  15.  1862,  Companies  A  and  I 
were  from  Decatur  County ;  Companies  B,  C  and  D,  from  Warren  County ;  Com- 
pany E,  from  Lucas  County;  Company  F,  from  "Wayne  County:  Company  G, 
from  Lucas  and  Clark  Counties :  Company  IL  from  ^ladison  and  Warren 
Counties,  and  Company  K,  from  Lucas  County.  Was  engaged  at  Arkansas 
Post,  Ft.  Gaines,  etc.,  etc.  Was  consolidated  with  the  Thirty-eighth  Infantry., 
January  1,  1865,  and  mustered  out  at  Houston,  Texas,  August  15,  1865. 

THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    INFANTRY 

was  organized  at  jSIuscatine,  and  mustered  in  the  United  States  service  Sep- 
tember"l8,  1862,  with  S.  G.  Hill,  of  Muscatine,  as  Colonel ;  James  H.  Roth- 
rock,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  Henry  O'Conner,  of  Muscatine,  as  Major. 
Companies  A.  B.  C,  D  and  E.  were  from  Muscatine  County:  Company  F, 
from  Muscatine  and  Louisa  Counties :  Companies  G.  H  and  I,  from  Muscatine 
and  Cedar  Counties,  and  Company  K.  from  Cedar  County.  Participated  in 
the  battles  of  Jackson,  siege  of  Vicksburg,  Bayou  Rapids,  Ba^^ou  de  Glaze, 
Pleasant  Hill.  Old  River  Lake,  Tupelo,  Nashville,  etc.  Was  mustered  out  at 
Davenport.  August  10,  1865. 


THE  THIRTY'-SIXTH   INFANTRY 

was  organized  at  Keokuk,  with  Charles  W.  Kittredge,  of  Ottumwa,  as  Colonel : 
F.  M.  Drake,  of  Unior.ville,  Appanoose  County,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  T. 

C.  Woodward,  of  Ottumwa.  as  Major,  and  mustered  in  October  4,  1862  ;  Com- 
pany A  was  from  ]Monroe  County ;  Companies  B,  D,  E,  H  and  K,  from 
Wapello  County^,  and  Companies  C,  F,  G  and  I,  from  Appanoose  County. 
Was  engaged  in  the  following  battles :  Mark's  Mills.  Ark. ;  Elkins'  Ford, 
Camden,  Helena,  Jenkins'  Ferry,  etc.  At  Mark's  Mills,  April  25.  1864.  out 
of  500  engaged,  lost  200  killed  and  wounded,  the  balance  being  taken  prisoners 
of  war  :  was  exchanged  October  6,  1864.  Was  mustered  out  at  Duvall's  Bluti', 
Ark.j  August  24, 1865. 

THE  THIRY-SEVENTH  INFANTRY  (OR  GRAY  BEARDS, 

was  organized  with  Geo.  W.  Kincaid.  of  Muscatine,  as  Colonel :  Geo.  R.  West, 
ot  Dubiique,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  Lyman  Allen,  of  Iowa  City,  as  Major, 
and  was  mustered  into  United  States  service  at  Muscatine  December  15,  1862. 
Company  A  was  from  Black  Hawk  and  Linn  Counties :  Company  B,  from 
IMuscatiiie  County  :  Company  C,  from  Yan  Buren  and  Lee  Counties  :  Company 

D.  from  Johnsonanil  Iowa  Counties  :  Company  E,  from  Wapello  and  Mahaska 
Counties :  Company  F.  from  Dubuque  County  :  Company  G.  from  Appanoose, 
Des  Moines,  Henry  and  Washington  Counties :  Company  H.  from  Henry  and 
Jeft'erson  Counties :  Company  I.  from  Jasper.  Linn  and  other  counties,  and 
Company  K,  from  Scott  and  Fayette  Counties.  The  object  of  the  Thirty- 
seventh  was  to  do  garrison  duty  and  let  the  young  men  go  to  the  front.  It  was 
mustered  out  at  Davenport  on  expiration  of  fhree  years"  serrice. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  243 


THE    THIRTY-EIGHTH    INFANTRY 

was  organized  at  Dubuque,  and  mustered  in  November  4,  1862,  with  D.  H. 
Hughes,  of  Decorah,  as  Colonel ;  J.  0.  Hudnutt,  of  Waverly,  as  Lieutenan, 
Colonel,  and  Charles  Chadwick,  of  West  Union,  as  Major.  Companies  A,  Ft 
G  and  H  were  from  Fayette  County  ;  Company  B,  from  Bremer  County  ;  Com- 
pany C,  from  Chickasaw  County  ;  Companies  D,  E  and  K,  from  Winneshiek 
County,  and  Company  I,  from  Howard  County.  Participated  in  the  siege  of 
Vicksburg,  Banks'  Red  River  expedition,  and  on  December  12,  1864,  was 
consolidated  with  the  Thirty-fourth  Infantry.  Mustered  out  at  Houston,  Texas, 
August  15,  1865. 

THE   THIRTY-NINTH   INFANTRY 

was  organized  with  H.  J.  B.  Cummings,  of  Winterset,  as  Colonel;  James  Red- 
field,  of  Redfield,  Dallas  County,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  and  J.  M.  Griffiths, 
of  Des  Moines,  as  Major.  Companies  A  and  F  were  from  Madison  County  : 
Companies  B  and  I,  from  Polk  Couuty ;  Companies  C  and  H,  from  Dallas 
County  ;  Company  D,  from  Clark  County ;  Company  E,  from  Greene  County  ; 
Company  G,  from  Des  Moines  and  Henry  Counties ;  and  Company  K,  from 
Clark  and  Decatur  Counties.  Was  engaged  at  Parker's  Cross  Roads,  Tenn.; 
Corinth,  Allatoona,  Ga.;  Resaca,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Atlanta,  Sherman's  march 
to  Savannah  and  through  the  Carolinas  to  Richmond,  and  was  mustered  out  at 
Washington  June  5,  1865. 

THE   FORTIETH   INFANTRY 

was  organized  at  Iowa  City  November  15,  1862,  with  John  A.  Garrett,  of 
Newton,  as  Colonel;  S.  F.  Cooper,  of  Grinnell,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel;  and 
S.  G.  Smith,  of  Newton,  as  Major.  Companies  A  and  H  were  from  Marion 
County;  Company  B,  from  Poweshiek  County;  Company  C,  from  Mahaska 
County ;  Companies  D  and  E,  from  Jasper  County ;  Company  F,  from  Ma- 
haska and  Marion  Counties ;  Company  G,  from  Marion  County ;  Company  I, 
from  Keokuk  County;  and  Company  K,  from  Benton  and  other  counties.  Par- 
ticipated in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  Steele's  expedition.  Banks'  Red  River 
expedition.  Jenkins'  Ferry,  etc.  Was  mustered  out  at  Port  Gibson  August  2, 
1866. 

THE    FORTY-FIRST   INFANTRY, 

formerly  Companies  A,  B  and  C  of  the  Fourteenth  Infantry,  became  Compa- 
nies K,  L  and  M  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  under  authority  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment. Its  infantry  organization  was  under  command  of  John  Pattee,  of  Iowa 
City.  Company  A  was  from  Black  Hawk,  Johnson  and  other  counties ;  Com- 
pany B,  from  Johnson  County ;  and  Company  C,  from  Des  Moines  and  various 
counties. 

THE  FORTY-FOURTH  INFANTRY  (100  DAYS) 

was  organized  at  Davenport,  and  mustered  in  June  1,  1864.  Company  A  was 
from  Dubuque  County;  Company  B,  Muscatine  County;  Company  C,  Jones, 
Linn  and  Dubuque  Counties  ;  Company  D,  Johnson  and  Linn  Counties  ;  Com- 
pany E,  Bremer  and  Butler  Counties ;  Company  F,  Clinton  and  Jackson 
Counties ;  Company  G,  Marshall  and  Hardin  Counties ;  Company  H,  Boone 
and  Polk  Counties ;  Companies  I  and  K,  Scott  County.  The  Forty-fourth 
did  garrison  duty  at  Memphis  and  La  Grange,  Tenn.  Mustered  out  at  Daven- 
port, September  15,  1864. 


244  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

THE    FORTY-FIFTH    INFANTRY    (100    DAYS) 

was  mustered  in  at  Keokuk,  May  25,  1864,  with  A.  H.  Bereman,  of  Mount 
Pleasant,  as  Colonel ;  S.  A.  Moore,  of  Bloomfield,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and 
J.  B.  Hope,  of  Washington,  as  Major.  The  companies  were  from  the  following 
counties :  A,  Henry  ;  B,  Washington  ;  C,  Lee  ;  D,  Davis  ;  E,  Henry  and 
Lee ;  F,  Des  Moines ;  G,  Des  Moines  and  Henry  ;  H,  Henry ;  I,  Jefferson, 
and  K,  Van  Buren.     Was  mustered  out  at  Keokuk,  September  16,  1864. 

THE  FORTY-SIXTH  INFANTRY  (100  DAYS) 

was  organized  with  D.  B.  Henderson,  of  Clermont,  as  Colonel;  L.  D,  Durbin, 
of  Tipton,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  G.  L.  Tarbet,  as  Major,  and  was  mus- 
tered in  at  Dubuque,  June  10,  1864.  Company  A  was  from  Dubuque ;  Com- 
pany B,  from  Poweshiek ;  C,  from  Dallas  and  Guthrie ;  D,  from  Taylor  and 
Fayette ;  E,  from  Ringgold  and  Linn  ;  F,  from  Winneshiek  and  Delaware  ;  G, 
from  Appanoose  and  Delaware;,  H,  from  Wayne;  I,  from  Cedar,  and  K,  from 
Lucas.     Was  mustered  out  at  Davenport,  iSeptember  23,  1864. 

THE  FORTY-SEVENTH  INFANTRY  (100  DAYS) 

was  mustered  into  United  States  service  at  Davenport,  June  4,  1864,  with 
James  P.  Sanford,  of  Oskaloosa,  as  Colonel;  John  Williams,  of  Iowa  City,  as 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  G.  J.  Wright,  of  Des  Moines,  as  Major.  Company 
A  was  from  Marion  and  Clayton  Counties;  Company  B,  from  Appanoose 
County;  Company  C,  from  Wapello  and  Benton  Counties;  Company  B,  from 
Buchanan  and  Linn  Counties;  Company  E,  from  Madison  County;  Company 
F,  from  Polk  County ;  Company  G,  from  Johnson  County ;  Company  H,  from 
Keokuk  County;  Company  I,  from  Mahaska  County,  and  Company  K,  from 
Wapello. 

THE    FORTY-EIGHTH    INFANTRY BATTALION (100    DAYS) 

was  organized  at  Davenport,  and  mustered  in  July  13,  1864,  with  0.  H.  P. 
Scott,  of  Farmington,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel.  Company  A  was  from  Warren 
County ;  Company  B,  from  Jasper  County ;  Company  C,  from  Decatur  County, 
and  Company  D,  from  Des  Moines  and  Lee  Counties,  and  was  mustered  out  at 
Rock  Island  Barracks  Oct.  21,  1864. 

CAVALRY. 

THE    FIRST    CAVALRY 

was  organized  at  Burlington,  and  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  May 
3,  1861,  with  Fitz  Henry  Warren,  of  Burlington,  as  Colonel ;  Chas.  E.  Moss, 
of  Keokuk,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  and  E.  W.  Chamberlain,  of  Burlington, 
James  0.  Gower,  of  Iowa  City,  and  W.  M.  G.  Torrence,  of  Keokuk,  as  Majors. 
Company  A  was  from  Lee,  Van  Buren  and  Wapello  Counties ;  Company  B, 
from  Clinton  County ;  Company  C,  from  Des  Moines  and  Lee  Counties ;  Com- 
pany D,  from  Madison  and  Warren  Counties;  Company  E,  from  Henry 
County ;  Company  F,  from  Johnson  and  Linn  Counties ;  Company  G,  from 
Dubuque  and  Black  Hawk  Counties ;  Company  H,  from  Lucas  and  Morrison 
Counties ;  Company  I,  from  Wapello  and  Des  Moines  Counties ;  Company  K, 
from  Allamakee  and  Clayton  Counties ;   Company  L,  from  Dubuque  and  other 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  245 

HrMo'-^Rdr&^'/''''  ^''''Z^'r'y-     ^'  -^^  -"g-ged  at  Pleasant 
Hill,  Mo.,  Rolla,  New  Lexington,  Elkins'  Ford,  Little  Rock,  Bayou  Metoe 
WarrensDurg,  Big  Creek  Bluffs,  Antwineville,  Clear  Creek,  etc.  Was  mustered 
out  at  Austin,  Texas,  February  15,  1866.  musierea 


THE   SECOND    CAVALRY 


was  organized  with  W.  L.  Elliott,  of  the  regular  army,  as  Colonel;  Edward 
Hatch  of  Muscatine  as  Lieutenant  Colonel;  and  N.  P.  Hepburn,  of  Marshall- 
town,  D.  E.  Coon  of  Mason  City,  and  H.  W.  Love,  of  Iowa  City,  as  Majors 
and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at  Davenport  September  l' 
1861  Company  A  was  from  Muscatine  County;  Company  B,  from  Marshall 
County;  Company  C,  from  Scott  County;  Company  D,  from  Polk  County; 
Company  E,  from  Scott  County;  Company  F,  from  Hamilton  and  Franklin 
Counties;  Company  G  from  Muscatine  County;  Company  H,  from  Johnson 
County  ;  Company  I,  from  Cerro  Gordo,  Delaware  and  other  counties  ;  Com- 
pany K,  from  Des  Moines  County;  Company  L,  from  Jackson  County,  and 
Company  M  from  Jackson  County.  The  Second  Cavalry  participated  in  the 
fo  owing  military  movements :  Siege  of  Corinth,  battles  of  Farmington,  Boone- 
ville,  Rienzi  luka,  Corinth,  Coffeeville,  Palo  Alto,  Birmingham,  Jackson, 
Grenada,  Collierville,  Moscow,  Pontotoc,  Tupelo,  Old  Town,  Oxford  and  en- 
gagements against  Hood's  march  on  Nashville,  battle  of  Nashville  etc  Was 
mustered  out  at  Selma,  Ala.,  September  19,  1865. 

THE   THIRD   CAVALRY 

was  organized  and  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at  Keokuk,  in  Au- 
gust and  September,  1861,  with  Cyrus  Bussey,  of  Bloomfield,  as  Colonel;  H. 
11      f  fe   n  ^°T^^^^'  ^'  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  C.  H.  Perry,  H.  C.  Cald- 
well and  W   C.  Drake,  of  Corydon,  as  Majors.     Companies  A  and  E  were  fi^om 
Davis  County;   Company  B,  from  Van  Buren  and  Lee  Counties;  Company  C 
from  Lee  and  Keokuk  Counties;   Company  D,  from  Davis  and  Van  Buren 
Counties;  Company  F   from  Jefferson  County;   Company  G,  from  Van  Buren 
County;   Company  H,  from  Van  Buren  and  Jefferson  Counties;   Company  I, 
from  Appanoose  County;  Company  K,  from  Wapello  and  Marion  Counties 
Company  L   from  Decatur  County,  and  Company  M,  from  Appanoose  and  De- 
catur   Counties       It   was  engaged  in  the  following  battles   and   skirmishes: 
P      pi  ^^'t.    1       J^S?'.  S:^^^mo^e,  near  Little  Rock,  Columbus,  Pope's  Farm 
Big  Blue,  Ripley,  Coldwater,  Osage,  Tallahatchie,  Moore's  Mill,  near  Monte- 

Tut'lo''T-ll     T     r'%.?^^'  ^^"^'  ?°"^'  ^"'^'  ^^^  Town,  White's  Station, 
Ga.   Au  usl'i'  1865  '^'''^''      """^  '^  ^""'^^^  ^*^*''  '^'^''^  ^^  ^^^^^*^' 

THE   POURTH    CAVALRY 

was  organized  with  AsburyB.  Porter,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  as  Colonel;  Thomas 
Drummond   of  Vinton   as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  S.  D.  S^-an,  of  Mount  fZI 
ant,  J.  E.  Jewett,  of  Des  Moines,  and  G.  A.  Stone,  of  Moivnt  Pleasant    as 
Majors  and  mustered  into  United  States  service  at  Mount  Pleasant  Novell 
Zl,    1851       Company  A  was  from   Delaware  County;   Company  C   from  Jef 
ferson  and  Henry  Counties;   Company  D,  from  Hen^y  CounV;^ Company  f 


246  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

from  Jasper  and  Poweshiek  Counties  ;  Company  F,  from  Wapello  County ; 
Company  G,  from  Lee  and  Henry  Counties ;  Company  H,  from  Chickasaw 
County ;  Company  I,  from  Madison  County ;  Company  K,  from  Henry 
County;  Company  L,  from  Des  Moines  and  other  counties;  and  Company  M, 
from  Jefferson  County.  The  Fourth  Cavalry  lost  men  in  the  following  engage- 
ments :  Guntown,  Miss.;  Helena,  Ark.;  near  Bear  Creek,  Miss.;  near  Mem- 
phis, Tenn.;  Town  Creek,  Miss.;  Columbus,  Ga.;  Mechanicsburg,  Miss.;  Little 
Blue  Eiver,  Ark.;  Brownsville,  Miss.;  Ripley,  Miss.;  Black  River  Bridge, 
Miss.;  Grenada,  Miss.;  Little  Red  River,  Ark.;  Tupelo,  Miss.;  Yazoo  River, 
Miss.;  White  River,  Ark.;  Osage,  Kan.;  Lick  Creek,  Ark.;  Okalona,  Miss.; 
St.  Francis  River,  Ark.     Was  mustered  out  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  August  10,  1865. 

THE   FIFTH    CAVALRY 

was  organized  at  Omaha  with  Wm.  W.  Lowe,  of  the  regular  army,  as  Colo- 
nel ;  M.  T.  Patrick,  of  Omaha,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  and  C.  S.  Bernstein, 
of  Dubuque,  as  Major,  and  mustered  in  September  21,  1861.  Companies  A, 
B,  C  and  D  were  mostly  from  Nebraska ;  Company  B,  from  Dubuque  County  ; 
Company  F,  from  Des  Moines,  Dubuque  and  Lee  Counties ;  Company  G,  from 
Minnesota ;  Company  H,  from  Jackson  and  other  counties ;  Companies  I  and 
K  were  from  Minnesota ;  Company  L,  from  Minnesota  and  Missouri ;  Com- 
pany M,  from  Missouri ;  Companies  G,  I  and  K  were  transferred  to  Minnesota 
Volunteers  Feb.  25,  1864.  The  new  Company  G  was  organized  from  veterans 
and  recruits  and  Companies  C,  E,  F  and  I  of  Fifth  Iowa  Infantry,  and  trans- 
ferred to  Fifth  Cavalry  August  8,  1864.  The  second  Company  1  was  organ- 
ized from  veterans  and  recruits  and  Companies  A,  B,  D,  G,  H  and  K  of  the 
Fifth  Iowa  Infantry,  and  transferred  to  Fifth  Iowa  Cavalry  August  18,  1864. 
Was  engaged  at  second  battle  of  Fort  Donelson,  Wartrace,  Duck  River  Bridge, 
Sugar  Creek,  Newnan,  Camp  Creek,  Cumberland  Works,  Tenn.;  Jonesboro, 
Ebenezer  Church,  Lockbridge's  Mills,  Pulaski,  Cheraw,  and  mustered  out  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  August  ]1,  1865. 

THE   SIXTH   CAVALRY. 

was  organized  with  D.  S.  Wilson,  of  Dubuque,  as  Colonel ;  S.  M.  Pollock,  of 
Dubuque,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  T.  H.  Shephard,  of  Iowa  City,  E.  P.  Ten- 
Broeck,  of  Clinton,  and  A.  E.  House,  of  Delhi,  as  Majors,  and  was  mustered 
in  at  Davenport,  January  31,  1863.  Company  A  was  from  Scott  and  other 
counties;  Company  B,  from  Dubuque  and  other  counties;  Company  C,  from 
Fayette  County;  Company  D,  from  Winneshiek  County;  Company  E,  from 
Southwest  counties  of  the  State ;  Company  F,  from  Allamakee  and  other 
counties ;  Company  G,  from  Delaware  and  Buchanan  Counties ;  Company  H, 
from  Linn  County ;  Company  I,  from  Johnson  and  other  counties ;  Company 
K,  from  Linn  County ;  Company  L,  from  Clayton  County ;  Company  M,  from 
Johnson  and  Dubuque  Counties.  The  Sixth  Cavalry  operated  on  the  frontier 
against  the  Indians.     Was  mustered  out  at  Sioux  City,  October  17,  1865. 

THE   SEVENTH    CAVALRY 

was  organized  at  Davenport,  and  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  April 
27,  1863,  with  S.  W.  Summers,  of  Ottumwa,  as  Colonel ;  John  Pattee,  of  Iowa 
City,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  H.  II.  Heath  and  G.  M.  O'Brien,  of  Dubuque, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  24T 

and  John  S.  Wood,  of  Ottumwa,  as  Majors.  Companies  A,  B,  C  and  D,  were 
from  Wapello  and  other  counties  in  inmiediate  vicinity;  Companies  E,  F,  G 
and  H,  were  from  all  parts  of  the  State ;  Company  I,  from  Sioux  City  and 
known  as  Sioux  City  Cavalry;  Company  K  was  originally  Company  A  of  the 
Fourteenth  Infantry  and  afterward  Company  A  of  the  Forty-first  Infantry,  was 
from  Johnson  and  other  counties ;   Company  L  was  originally  Company  B,  of 

the  Forty-first  Infantry  and  afterward  Company  B,  of  the  Forty ,  and 

was  from  Johnson  County;  Company  M  was  originally  Company  C,  of  the 
Fourteenth  Infantry,  and  afterward  Company  C,  of  the  Forty-first  and  from  Des 
Moines  and  other  counties.  The  Seventh  Cavalry  operated  against  the  Indi- 
ans. Excepting  the  Lieutenant  Colonel  and  Companies  K,  L  and  M,  the  regi- 
nient  was  mustered  out  at  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  May  17,  1866.  Companies 
K,  L,  and  M  were  mustered  out  at  Sioux  City,  June  22,  1866. 

THE    EIGHTH    CAVALRY 

was  organized  with  J.  B.  Dorr,  of  Dubuque,  as  Colonel  ;  H.  G.  Earner,  of 
Sidney,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  John  J.  Bowen,  of  Hopkinton,  J.  D.  Thompson, 
of  Eldora,  and  A.  J.  Price,  of  Guttenburg,  a^  Majors,  and  were  mustered  in  at 
Davenport  September  30,  1863.  The  companies  were  mostly  from  the  follow- 
ing counties  :  Company  A,  Page;  B,  Wapello;  C,  Van  Buren;  D,  Ring- 
gold; E,  Henry;  F,  Appanoose;  G,  Clayton;  H,  Appanoose;  I,  Marshall; 
K,  Muscatine;  L,  Wapello  ;  M,  Polk.  The  Eighth  did  a  large  amount  of  duty 
guarding  Sherman's  communications,  in  which  it  had  many  small  engagements^ 
It  Avas  in  the  battles  of  Lost  Mountain,  Lovejoy's  Station,  Newnan,  Nashville, 
etc.  Was  on  Stoneman's  cavalry  raid  around  Atlanta,  and  Wilson's  raid 
through  Alabama.     Was  mustered  out  at  Macon,  Ga.,  August  13,  1865.. 

THE    NINTH    CAVALRY 

was  mustered  in  at  Davenport,  November  30,  1863,  with  M.  M.  Trumbull,  of 
Cedar  Falls,  as  Colonel ;  J.  P.  Knight,  of  Mitchell,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  E. 
T.  Ensign,  of  Des  Moines,  Willis  Drummond,  of  McGregor,  and  William  Had- 
dock, of  Waterloo,  as  Majors.  Company  A  was  from  Muscatine  County; 
Company  B,  Linn  County ;  Company  C,  Wapello  and  Decatur  Counties  ;  Com- 
pany D,  Washington  County ;  Company  E,  Fayette  County ;  Company  F, 
Clayton  County  ;  Companies  G  and  H,  various  counties  ;  Company  I,  Wapello 
and  Jefferson  Counties ;  Company  K,  Keokuk  County ;  Company  L,  Jasper 
and  Marion  Counties  ;  Company  M,  Wapello  and  Lee  Counties.  Was  mustered 
out  at  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  February  28,  1866. 


ARTILLERY. 

THE   FIRST   BATTERY    OF   LIGHT   ARTILLERY 

was   enrolled  in  the  counties  of   Wapello,  Des  Moines,  Dubuque,  Jefferson, 
Black  Hawk,  etc.,  and  was  mustered  in  at  Burlington,  Aug.  17,  1861,  with  C.  U. 
Fletcher,  of  Burlington,  as  Captain.     Was  engaged  at  Pea  Ridge,  Port  Gibson 
in  Atlanta  campaign,  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Lookout  Mountain,  etc.     Was  mus^ 
tered  out  at  Davenport  July  5,  1865. 


248  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 


THE   SECOND   BATTERY    OF   LIGHT   ARTILLERY 

was  enrolled  in  the  counties  of  Dallas,  Polk,  Harrison,  Fremont  and  Pottawat- 
tamie, and  mustered  into  United  States  service  at  Council  Bluffs  and  St.  Louis, 
Mo,  Aug.  8  and  31,  1861,  with  Nelson  T.  Spear,  of  Council  Bluffs,  as 
Captain.  Was  engaged  at  Farmington,  Corinth,  etc.  Was  mustered  out  at 
Davenport,  Aug.  7,  1865. 

THE   THIRD   BATTERY   OF   LIGHT   ARTILLERY 

was  enrolled  in  the  counties  of  Dubuque,  Black  Hawk,  Butler  and  Floyd,  and 
mustered  into  United  States  service  at  Dubuque,  September,  1861,  with  M. 
M.  Hayden,  of  Dubuque,  as  Captain.  Was  at  battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  etc.,  etc. 
Was  mustered  out  at  Davenport,  Oct.  23,  1865. 

THE   FOURTH   BATTERY   OF   LIGHT   ARTILLERY 

was  enrolled  in  Mahaska,  Henry,  Mills  and  Fremont  Counties,  and  was  mus- 
tered in  at  Davenport,  Nov.  23,  1863,  with  P.  H.  Goode,  of  Glenwood,  Cap- 
tain.    Was  mustered  out  at  Davenport,  July  14,  1865. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

THE    FOURTH    BATTALION 

Company  A,  from  Fremont  County,  W.  Hoyt,  Captain;  Company  B,  from 
Taylor  County,  John  Flick,  Captain;  Company  C,  from  Page  County,  J. 
Whitcomb,  Captain. 

THE   NORTHERN   BORDER   BRIGADE 

was  organized  by  the  State  of  Iowa  to  protect  the  Northwestern  frontier, 
James  A.  Sawyer,  of  Sioux  City,  was  elected  Colonel.  It  had  Companies  A, 
B,  C,  D  and  E,  all  enlisted  from  the  Northwestern  counties. 

THE   SOUTHERN   BORDER   BRIGADE 

was  organized  by  the  State  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  Southern  border 
of  the  State,  and  was  organized  in  counties  on  the  border  of  Missouri.  Com- 
pany A,  First  Battalion,  was  from  Lee  County,  Wm.  Sole,  Captain;  Company  B, 
First  Battalion,  Joseph  Dickey,  Captain,  from  Van  Buren  County;  Company 
A,  Second  Battalion,  from  Davis  County,  Capt.  H.  B.  Horn;  Company  B,  Sec- 
ond Battalion,  from  Appanoose  County,  E.  B.  Skinner,  Captain;  Company  A, 
Third  Battalion,  from  Decatur  County,  J.  H.  Simmons,  Captain;  Company  B, 
Third  Battalion,  from  Wayne  County,  E.  F.  Estel,  Captain;  Company  C, 
Third  Battalion,  from  Ringgold  County,  N.  Miller,  Captain. 

THE   FIRST   INFANTRY — AFRICAN   DESCENT — (SIXTIETH    U.  S.) 

was  organized  with  John  G.  Hudson,  Captain  Company  B,  Thirty-third  Mis- 
souri, as  Colonel;  M.  F.  Collins,  of  Keokuk,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  J.  L. 
Murphy,  of  Keokuk,  as  Major.  Had  ten  companies,  and  were  mustered  in  at 
various  places  in  the  Fall  of  1863.  The  men  were  from  all  parts  of  the  State 
and  some  from  Missouri. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA.  249 

During  the  war,  the  following  promotions  were  made  by  the  United  States 
Government  from  Iowa  regiments:* 

MAJOR   GENERALS 
Samuel  E.  Curtis,  Brigadier  General,  from  March  21, 1863. 
Frederick  Steele,  Brigadier  General,  from  November  29, 1862. 
Frank  J.  Herron,  Brigadier  General,  from  November  29,  1862. 
Grenville  M.  Dodge,  Brigadier  General,  from  June  7, 1864. 

BRIGADIER   GENERALS. 

Samuel  E.  Curtis,  Colonel  2d  Infantry,  from  May  17, 1861. 

Frederick  Steele.  Colonel  8th  Infantry,  from  February  6, 1862. 

Jacob  G.  Lauman,  Colonel  7th  Infantry,  from  March  21,  1862. 

Grenville  M.  Dodge,  Colonel  4th  Infantry,  from  March  31, 1862. 

James  M.  Tuttle,  Colonel  2d  Infantry,  from  June  9, 1862. 

Washington  L.  Elliott,  Colonel  2d  Cavalry,  from  June  11, 1862. 

Fitz  Henry  Warren,  Colonel  1st  Cavalry  ,  from  July  6, 1862. 

Frank  J.  Herron,  Lieutenant  Colonel  9th  Infantry,  from  July  30, 1863. 

Charles  L.  Matthies,  Colonel  5th  Infantry,  from  JSTovember  29,  1862. 

William  Yandever,  Colonel  9th  Infantry,  from  November  29,  1862. 

Marcellus  M.  Crocker,  Colonel  13th  Infantry,  from  Nov.  29, 1862.     (Since  died.) 

Hugh  T.  Eeid,  Colonel  15th  Infantry  from  March  13,  1863. 

Samuel  A.  Eice,  Colonel  33d  Infantry,  from  August  4,  1863, 

John  M.  Corse,  Colonel  6th  Infantry,  from  August  11, 1863. 

Cyrus  Bussey,  Colonel  3d  Cavalry,  from  January  5,  1864. 

Edward  Hatch,  Colonel  2d  Cavalry,  from  April  27,  1864. 

Elliott  W.  Eice,  Colonel  7th  Infantry,  from  June  20, 1864. 

Wm.  W.  Belknap,  Colonel  15th  Infantry,  from  July  30,  1864. 

John  Edwards,  Colonel  18th  Infantry,  frqm  September  26,  1864. 

James  A.  Williamson,  Colonel  4th  Infantry,  from  January  13,  1864. 

James  I.  Gilbert,  Colonel  27th  Infantry,  from  February  9,  1865. 

BREVET   MAJOR   GENERALS. 
John  M.  Corse,  Brigadier  General  from  October  5, 1864. 
Edward  Hatch,  Brigadier  General,  from  December  15,  1864. 
Wm.  W.  Belknap,  Brigadier  General,  from  March  13,  1865. 
W.  L.  Elliott,  Brigadier  General,  from  March  13,  1865. 
Wm.  Vandever,  Brigadier  General,  from  June  7, 1865. 

BREVET   BRIGADIER   GENERALS. 

Wm.  T.  Clark,  A.  A.  G.,  late  of  13th  Infanhy,  from  July  23,  1864. 

Edward  F,  Winslow,  Colonel  4th  Cavalry,  from  December  12, 1864. 

S.  G.  Hill,  Colonel  35th  Infantry,  from  December  15,  1864.    (Since  died.) 

Thos.  H.  Benton,  Colonel  29th  Infantry,  from  December  15,  1864. 

Samuel  L.  Glasgow,  Colonel  23d  Infantry,  from  December  19, 1864. 

Clark  E.  Wever,  Colonel  17th  Infantry,  from  February  9, 1865. 

Francis  M.  Drake,  Lieutenant  Colonel  36th  Infantry,  from  February  22,  1865. 

Geo]-ge  A.  Stone,  Colonel  25th  Infantry,  from  March  13, 1865. 

Datus  E.  Coon,  Colonel  2d  Cavalry,  from  March  8, 1865. 

George  A7.  Clark,  Colonel  34th  Infantry,  from  March  13, 1865. 

Herman  H.  Heath,  Colonel  7th  Cavalry,  from  IMarch  13,  1865. 

J.  M.  Hedrick,  Colonel  15th  Infantry,  from  j\Iarch  13, 1865. 

W.  W.  Lowe,  Colonel  5th  Cavalry,  from  March  13, 1865. 


♦Thomas  J.  McKean  was  appointed  Paymaster  in  U.  S.  A.  from  Iowa,  and  subsequently  promoted  Brigadier  General, 
to  date  from  Nov.  21, 1861. 


250 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 


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254 


HISTOKV  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 


NUMBER  OF  TROOPS   FURNISHED  BY  THE  STATE   OF   IOWA 

DURING  THE  WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION, 

TO   JANUARY  1,  1865. 


No.  Resiimeut. 


1st  Iowa 

2d 

3d 

4tli 

5th 

6th 

7th 

8th 

9th 
10th 
nth 
12th 
13th 
14th 
15th 
16th 
17th 
18th 
19th 
20th 
21st 
22d 
23d 
24th 
25th 
26th 
27th 
28th 
29th 
30th 
31st 
32d 
33d 
34th 
35th 
o6th 
37th 
38th 


Infantry . 


No.    of 
men 


No.    Resiiment. 


959  39th  Iowa  Infantry 

l,247|40th     ••  "       ' 

41st  Battalion  Iowa  Infantry... 

44th  Infantry  (100-days  men). 

45th 

4Gth         "  "  "     . 

47th         "  "  "     . 

4Sth  Battalion        '=  "     . 

1st  Iowa  Cavalry 

2d      '•  "      


1,074 

1.184 

1,037 

1,013 

1,138 

1.027 

1,090 

1,027 

l,022j 

981 

989 

840 

1,1 9t= 

919 

956 

875 

9S5 

925 

980 

1,008 

961 

979 

995, 

919 

940 

956 

1,005 

978 

977 

925 

985 

953 

984 

986 

914 

9]0i 


No.    of 
men. 


3d      "  "       

4th     "  "       

5th     "  «       

6th     "  "       

7th     "  "       

8th     "  "       

9th     "  "       

Sioux  City  Cavalry* 

Co.  A,  lltli  Penn.  Cavalry 

1st  Battery  Artillery 

2d        "  "         

Sd        "  "         

4th       "  "         

1st  Iowa  African  Infantry,  60th  U.  Sf .. 

Dodge's  Brigade  Band 

Band  of  2d  Iowa  Intantry 

Enlistments  as  far  as  reported  to  Jan.  1, 
1864,  for  the  older  Iowa  resriments 


Enlistments  of  Iowa  men    in  regiments 
of  other  States,  over 


Total 

Re-enlisted  Veterans  for  different  Regi- 
ments  

Additional  enlistments 


933 

900 

294 

867 

912 

892 

884 

346 

1,478 

1,394 

1,360 

1,227 

1,245 

1,125 

562 

1,234 

1,178 

93 

87 

149 

123 

142 

152 

903 

14 

10 

2,765 

2,500 


Grand  total  as  far  as  reported  up  to  Jan. 
1,  1865 


61,653 

7,202 
6,664 


75,519 


This  does  not  include  those  Iowa  men  who  veteranized  in  the  regiments  of  other  States,  nor 
the  names  of  men  who  enlisted  during  1864,  in  regiments  of  other  States. 
*  Afterward  consolidated  with  Seventh  Cavalry, 
f  Only  a  portion  of  this  regiment  was  credited  to  the  State. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 


255 


POPULATION  OF  IOWA, 

By  Counties. 


COUNTIES. 


Adair 

Adams 

Allamakee... 
Appanoose ... 

Audubon 

Benton 

Black  Hawk. 

Boone 

Bremer 

Buchanan  

Buena  Vista . 
Buncombe*... 

Butler 

Calhoun 

Carroll 

Cass 

Cedar 

Cerro  Gordo  . 

Cherokee 

Chickasaw.... 

Clarke 

Clay 

Clayton  

Clinton 

Crawford 

Dallas 

Davis 

Decatur 

Delaware 

Des  Moines... 

Dickinson 

Dubuque 

Emmett 

Fayette 

Floyd 

Franklin 

Fremont 

Greene 

Grundy  

Guthrie 

Hamilton 

Hancock 

Hardin , 

Harrison 

Henry 

Howard  , 

Humboldt 

Ida 

Iowa 

Jackson 

Jasper 

.Jefferson 

Johnson 

Jones  


AGGREGATE. 


1875.         1870.        1860.         1850.        1840.     Voters 


7045 

7832 
19158 
17405 

2370^ 
28807 
22913 
17251 
13220 
17315 

3561 


11734 

3185 

5760 

10552 

17879 

6685 

4249 

11400 

10118 

3559 

27184 

34295 

6039 

14386 

1575 

13249 

16893 

35415 

1748 

43845 

1436 

20515 

13100 

6558 

13719 

7028 

8134 

9638 

7701 

1482 

15029 

11818 

21594 

7875 

3455 

794 

174561 

23061 

24128 

17127 

24654 

19168: 


3982 

4614 
17868 
16450 

1212 
22454 
21706 
14584 
12528 
17034 

1585 


9951 

1602 

2451 

5464 

19731 

4722 

1967 

10180 

8735 

1523 

27771 

35357 

2530 

12019 

15565 

12018 

17432 

27256 

1389 

38969 

1392 

169 

10768 

4738 

11173 

4627 

639^? 

7061 

6055 

999 

13684 

8931 

21463 

6282 

2596 

226 

16644 

22619 

22116 

17839 

24898 

19731 


984 

1533 

12237 

11931 

454 

8496 

8244 

4232 

4915 

7906 

57 


3724 

147 

281 

1612 

12949 

940 

58 

4336 

5427 

52 

20728 

18938 

383 

5244 

13764 

8677 

11024 

19611 

180 

31164 

105 

12073 

3744 

1309 

5074 

1374 

793 

3058 

1699 

179 

5440 

3621 

18701 

3168 

332 

43 

8029 

18493 

9883 

15038 

17573 

13306 


777 
3131 


672 
135 
735 


517 


3941 


79 


3873 

2822 


854 
7264 

965 

1759 

12988 


10841 


825 


1244 


8707 


822 
7210 
1280 
9904 
4472 
3007 


1253 


1101 
821 


168 
6577 


3059 


1411 


1491 
471 


*  In  1862,  name  changed  to  Lyon. 


256 


HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 

POPULATION   OF   IOWA— Concluded. 


COUNTIES. 


Keoknk  

Kossuth 

Lee 

Linn 

Louisa , 

Lucas , 

Lyon* , 

Madison 

Mahaska 

Marion 

Marshall 

Mills 

Mitchell 

Monona 

Monroe 

Montgomery... 

Muscatine 

O'Brien 

Osceola 

Page 

Palo  Alto  

Plymouth 

Pocahontas 

Polk 

Pottawattomie. 

Poweshiek 

Ringgold 

Sac 

Scott 

Shelby 

Sioux 

Story 

Tama 

Taylor 

Union  

Van  Buren 

Wapello 

Warren 

Washington 

Wayne 

Webster 

Winnebago 

Winneshiek 

Woodbury 

Worth 

Wriffht 


Total 

Formerly  Buncombe. 


agquegatb.  . 

1875. 

1870. 

1860. 

1850. 

1840. 

Voters. 

20488 

3765 

33913 

31815 

12499 

11725 

1139 

16030 

23718 

24094 

19629 

10555 

11523 

2267 

12811 

1U389 

21623 

2349 

1778 

14274 

2728 

5282 

2249 

31558 

21665 

16482 

7546 

2873 

39763 

5664 

3120 

13111 

18771 

10418 

8827 

16980 

23865 

18541 

19269 

13978 

13114 

2986 

24233 

8568 

4908 

19434 
3351 

38210 

28852 

12877 

10388 

221 

13884 

22508 

24436 

17576 

8718 

9582 

3654 

12724 

5934 

21688 

715 

13271 
416 
29232 
18947 
10370 
5766 

4822 

4202 

773 
7274 
7509 
2899 
2464 

18861 

5444 

4939 

471 

6093 
1373 
1927 

287 
3632 

7339 

1-^816 

16813 

6015 

4481 

3409 

832 

8612 

1256 

16444 

8 

1179 
5989 

5482 
338 

5287 
4988 

4445 

2365 

2338 

1292 
2743 

2884 

2485 

6731 

1942 

6588 
595 

498 

9975 

1336 

2199 

1446 

27857 

16893 

15581 

5691 

1411 

38599 

2540 

576 

11651 

16131 

6989 

6986 

17672 

22346 

17980 

18952 

11287 

10484 

1562 

23570 

6172 

2892 

2392 

4419 

132 

148 

103 

11625 

4968 

5668 

2923 

246 

25959 

818 

10 

4051 

5285 

3590 

2012 

17081 

14518 

10281 

14235 

6409 

2504 

168 

13942 

1119 

756 

653 

551 

3222 

556 

1136 

464 

4513 

7828 
615 

6842 

4392 

3634 

1496 

657 

5986 

2140 

7109 
1084 

637 

2574 

8 
204 

3911 

2282 

1924 

12270 

8471 

961 

4957 

340 

6146 

3893 
5346 

4168 

1594 

4168 
2947 

2747 

406 

546 

4117 

1776 

763 

3244 

I 

694 

1 

1353118 

1191792 

674913 

192214 

43112 

284557 

THE    NORTHWESTERN    STATES,  257 


ILLINOIS. 

Length,  880  miles,  mean  width  about  156  miles.  Area,  55,410  square 
miles,  or  35,462,400  acres.  Illinois,  as  regards  its  surface,  constitutes  a 
table-land  at  a  varying  elevation  ranging  between  350  and  800  feet  above 
the  sea  level ;  composed  of  extensive  and  highly  fertile  prairies  and  plains. 
Much  of  the  south  division  of  the  State,  especially  the  river-bottoms,  are 
thickly  wooded.  The  prairies,  too,  have  oasis-like  clumps  of  trees 
scattered  here  and  there  at  intervals.  The  chief  rivers  irrigating  the 
State  are  the  Mississippi — dividing  it  from  Iowa  and  Missouri — the  Ohio 
(forming  its  south  barrier),  the  Illinois,  Wabash,  Kaskaskia,  and  San- 
gamon, with  their  numerous  affluents.  The  total  extent  of  navigable 
streams  is  calculated  at  4,000  miles.  Small  lakes  are  scattered  over  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  State,  Illinois  is  extremely  prolific  in  minerals,  chiefly 
coal,  iron,  copper,  and  zinc  ores,  sulphur  and  limestone.  The  coal-field 
alone  is  estimated  to  absorb  a  full  third  of  the  entire  coal-deposit  of  North 
America.  Climate  tolerably  equable  and  healthy ;  the  mean  temperature 
standing  at  about  51°  Fahrenheit  As  an  agricultural  region,  Illinois  takes 
a  competitive  rank  with  neighboring  States,  the  cereals,  fruits,  and  root- 
crops  yielding  plentiful  returns  ;  in  fact,  as  a  grain-growing  State,  Illinois 
may  be  deemed,  in  proportion  to  her  size,  to  possess  a  greater  area  of 
lands  suitable  for  its  production  than  any  other  State  in  the  Union.  Stock- 
raising  is  also  largely  carried  on,  while  her  manufacturing  interests  in 
regard  of  woolen  fabrics,  etc,  are  on  a  very  extensive  and  yearly  expand- 
ing scale.  The  lines  of  railroad  in  the  State  are  among  the  most  exten- 
sive of  the  Union,  Inland  water-carriage  is  facilitated  by  a  canal 
connecting  the  Illinois  River  with  Lake  Michigan,  and  thence  with  the 
St.  Lawrence  and  Atlantic.  Illinois  is  divided  into  102  counties  ;  the 
chief  towns  being  Chicago,  Springfield  (capital),  Alton,  Quincy,  Peoria, 
Galena,  Bloomington,  Rock  Island,  Vandalia,  etc.  By  the  new  Consti- 
tution, established  in  1870,  the  State  Legislature  consists  of  51  Senators, 
elected  for  four  years,  and  153  Representatives,  for  two  years ;  which 
numbers  were  to  be  decennially  increased  thereafter  to  the  number  of 
six  per  every  additional  half-million  of  inhabitants.  Religious  and 
educational  institutions  are  largely  diffused  throughout,  and  are  in  a  very 
flourishing  condition.  Illinois  has  a  State  Lunatic  and  a  Deaf  and  Dumb 
Asylum  at  Jacksonville ;  a  State  Penitentiary  at  Joliet ;  and  a  Home  for 


258 


THE   NORTHWESTERN   STATES. 


Soldiers'  Orphans  at  Normal.  On  November  80,  ISTO,  the  public  debt  of 
the  State  was  returned  at  $4,870,937,  with  a  balance  of  J^l, 808,833 
unprovided  for.  At  tlie  same  period  the  value  of  assessed  and  equalized 
property  presented  the  following  totals:  assessed,  8840,031,703  :  equal- 
ized !i^480,t^64,058.  The  name  of  Illinois,  through  nearly  th.  whole  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  embraced  most  of  the  known  regions  north  and 
west  of  Ohio.  French  colonists  established  themselves  in  1673,  at 
Cahokia  and  Kaskaskia,  and  the  territory  of  which  these  settlements 
formed  the  nnclens  was,  in  1763,  ceded  to  Great  Britain  in  ooujunction 
with  Canada,  and  ultimately  resigned  to  the  United  States  in  1787. 
Illinois  entered  the  Union  as  a  State,  December  3,  1818 ;  and  now  semis 
19  Representatives  to  Congress.     Population,  2,539,891,  in  1S70. 


THE   NORTHWESTERN    STATES. 


INDIANA. 


259 


The  profile  of  Indiana  forms  a  nearly  exact  parallelogram,  occupy- 
ing one  of  the  most  fertile  portions  of  the  great  Mississippi  Valley.  The 
greater  extent  of  the  surface  embraced  within  its  limits  consists  of  gentle 
undulations  rising  into  hilly  tracts  toward  the  Ohio  bottom.  The  chief 
rivers  of  the  State  are  the  Ohio  and  Wabash,  with  their  numerous 
affluents.  The  soil  is  highly  productive  of  the  cereals  and  grasses — most 
particularly  so  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio,  Wabash,  Whitewater,  and 
White  Rivers.  The  northeast  and  central  portions  are  well  timbered 
with  virgin  forests,  and  the  west  section  is  notably  rich  in  coal,  constitut- 
ing an  offshoot  of  the  great  Illinois  carboniferous  field.  Iron,  copper, 
marble,  slate,  gypsum,  and  various  clays  are  also  abundant.  From  an 
agricultural  point  of  view,  the  staple  products  are  maize  and  wheat,  with 
the  other  cereals  in  lesser  yields  ;  and  besides  these,  flax,  hemp,  sorghum, 
iiops,  etc.,  are  extensively  raised.  Indiana  is  divided  into  92  counties, 
and  counts  among  her  principal  cities  and  towns,  those  of  Indianapolis 
(the  capital),  Fort  Wayne,  Evansville,  Terre  Haute,  Madison,  Jefferson- 
ville,  Columbus,  Vincennes,  South  Bend,  etc.  The  public  institutions  of 
the  State  are  many  and  various,  and  on  a  scale  of  magnitude  and 
efficiency  commensurate  with  her  important  political  and  industrial  status. 
Upward  of  two  thousand  miles  of  railroads  permeate  the  State  in  all 
directions,  and  greatly  conduce  to  the  development  of  her  expanding 
manufacturing  interests.  Statistics  for  the  fiscal  year  terminating 
October  31,  1870,  exhibited  a  totalof  receipts,  $3,896,541  as  against  dis- 
bursements, $3,532,406,  leaving  a  balance,  $364,135  in  favor  of  the  State 
Treasury.  The  entire  public  debt,  January  5,  1871,  $3,971,000.  This- 
State  was  first  settled  by  Canadian  voyageurs  in  1702,  who  erected  a  fort 
at  Vincennes ;  in  1763  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  English,  and  was. 
by  the  latter  ceded  to  the  United  States  in  1783.  From  1788  till  1791, 
an  Indian  ware  fare  prevailed.  In  1800,  all  the  region  west  and  north  of 
Ohio  (then  formed  into  a  distinct  territory)  became  merged  in  Indiana. 
In  1809,  the  present  limits  of  the  State  were  defined,  Michigan  and 
Illinois  having  previously  been  withdrawn.  In  1811,  Indiana  was  the 
theater  of  the  Indian  War  of  Tecumseh,  ending  with  the  decisive  battle 
of  Tippecanoe.  In  1816  (December  11),  Indiana  became  enrolled  among 
the  States  of  the  American  Union.  In  1834,  the  State  passed  through  a 
monetary  crisis  owing  to  its  having  become  mixed  up  with  railroad, 
eanal,  and  other  speculations  on  a  gigantic  scale,  which  ended,  for  the 
lime  being,  in  a  general  collapse  of  public  credit,  and  consequent  bank- 
ruptcy.    Since    that  time,  however,  the  greater  number  of  the  public 


2U0  THE   NOHTinVESTEllN    STATES. 

works  Avluch  had  brought  about  that  imbroglio  —  especially  the  great 
Wabash  and  Erie  Oaual  —  have  been  completed,  to  the  great  beuelit  of 
the  State,  \\'hose  subsequent  progress  has  year  by  year  been  marked  by 
rapid  strides  iu  the  paths  of  wealth,  eomtnoree,  and  general  social  and 
political  prosperity.  The  constitution  now  in  force  was  adopted  in  1851. 
Population,  1,680,637. 


I  o  ^v  A . 

In  shape,  loAva  presents  an  almost  perfect  parallelogram ;  has  a 
length,  north  to  south,  of  about  300  miles,  by  a  pretty  even  width  of  208 
miles,  and  embraces  an  area  of  55,045  square  miles,  or  35,llii8,800  acres. 
The  surface  of  the  State  is  generally  undulating,  rising  toward  the 
middle  into  an  elevated  plateau  which  forms  the  '•''  divide "  of  the 
Missouri  and  Mississippi  basins.  Rolling  prairies,  especially  in  tlie  south 
section,  constitute  a  regnant  feature,  and  the  river  bottoms,  belted  with 
woodlands,  present  a  soil  of  the  richest  alluvion.  Iowa  is  well  watered  ; 
the  principal  rivers  being  the  jNIississippi  and  Missouri,  which  form 
respectively  its  east  and  west  limits,  and  the  Cedar,  Iowa,  and  Des 
]Moines,  allluents  of  the  lirst  named.  ^lincralogically,  Iowa  is  important 
as  occupying  a  section  of  the  great  Northwest  coal  field,  to  the  extent  of 
an  area  estimated  at  i!5,000  square  miles.  Lead,  copper,  zinc,  and  iron, 
are  also  mined  in  considerable  quantities.  The  soil  is  well  adapted  to 
the  production  of  wheat,  maize,  and  the  other  cereals ;  fruits,  vegetables, 
and  esculent  roots;  maize,  wheat,  and  oats  forming  the  chief  staples. 
Wine,  tobacco,  hops,  and  wax,  are  other  noticeable  items  of  the  agricul- 
tural yield.  Cattle-raising,  too,  is  a  branch  of  rural  industry  largely 
engaged  in.  The  climate  is  healthy,  although  liable  to  extremes  of  heat 
and  cold.  The  annual  gross  product  of  the  various  manufactures  carried 
on  in  this  State  approximate,  in  round  numbers,  a  sum  of  8-0,000,000. 
Iowa  has  an  immense  railroad  system,  besides  over  500  miles  of  water- 
cotumunication  by  means  of  its  navigable  rivers.  The  State  is  politically 
divided  into  90  counties,  with  the  following  centers  of  population:  Des 
Moines  (capitaH,  Iowa  City  (former  capital),  Dubuque,  Davenport,  Bur- 
lington, Council  Bluffs,  Keokuk,  ^Muscatine,  and  Cedar  Rapids.  The 
State  institutions  of  Iowa — ^i-eligious,  scholastic,  and  philanthropic  —  are 
on  a  par,  as  regards  number  and  perfection  of  organization  and  operation, 
with  those  of  her  Northwest  sister  States,  and  education  is  especially 
well  cared  for,  and  largely  diffused.  Iowa  formed  a  portion  of  the 
American  territorial  acquisitions  from  France,  by  the  so-called  Louisiana 
purchase  in  1 803,  and  was  politically  identified  with  Lotiisiana  till  ISlii, 


■fe& 


/ 


»'^ 


""^U^^^^^Z 


THE    NORTHWESTERN    STATES.  263 

when  it  merged  into  the  Missouri  Territory;  in  1834  it  came  under  the 
Michigan  organization,  and,  in  1836,  under  that  of  Wisconsin.  Fmally, 
after  being  constituted  an  independent  Territory,  it  became  a  State  of 
the  Union,  December  28,  1846.  Population  in  1860,  674,913  ;  in  1870, 
1,191,792,  and  in  1875,  1,353,118. 


MICHIGAN. 

United  area,  56,243  square  miles,  or  35,995,520  acres.  Extent  of  the 
Upper  and  smaller  Peninsula  —  length,  316  miles;  breadth,  fluctuating 
between  36  and  120  miles.  The  south  division  is  416  miles  long,  by  from 
50  to  300  miles  Avide.  Aggregate  lake-shore  line,  1,400  miles.  The 
Upper,  or  North,  Peninsula  consists  chiefly  of  an  elevated  plateau, 
expanding  into  the  Porcupine  mountain-system,  attaining  a  maximum 
height  of  some  2,000  feet.  Its  shores  along  Lake  Superior  are  eminently 
bold  and  picturesque,  and  its  area  is  rich  in  minerals,  its  product  of 
copper  constituting  an  important  source  of  industry.  Both  divisions  are 
heavily  wooded,  and  the  South  one,  in  addition,  boasts  of  a  deep,  rich, 
loamy  soil,  throwing  up  excellent  crops  of  cereals  and  other  agricultural 
produce.  The  climate  is  generally  mild  and  humid,  though  the  Winter 
colds  are  severe.  The  chief  staples  of  farm  husbandry  include  the  cereals, 
grasses,  maple  sugar,  sorghum,  tobacco,  fruits,  and  dairy-stuffs.  In  1870, 
the  acres  of  land  in  farms  were :  improved,  5,096,939 ;  unimproved 
woodland,  4,080,146  ;  other  unimproved  land,  842,057.  The  cash  value 
of  land  was  $398,240,578 ;  of  farming  implements  and  machinery, 
$13,711,979.  In  1869,  there  were  shipped  from  the  Lake  Superior  ports, 
874,582  tons  of  iron  ore,  and  45,762  of  smelted  pig,  along  with  14,188 
tons  of  copper  (ore  and  ingot).  Coal  is  another  article  largely  mined. 
Inland  communication  is  provided  for  by  an  admirably  organized  railroad 
system,  and  by  the  St.  Mary's  Ship  Canal,  connecting  Lakes  Huron  and 
Superior.  Michigan  is  politically  divided  into  78  counties ;  its  chief 
urban  centers  are  Detroit,  Lansing  (capital),  Ann  Arbor,  Marquette, 
Bay  City,  Niles,  Ypsilanti,  Grand  Haven,  etc.  The  Governor  of  the 
State  is  elected  biennially.  On  November  30, 1870,  the  aggi;egate  bonded 
debt  of  Michigan  amounted  to  $2,385,028,  and  the  assessed  valuation  of 
land  to  $266,929,278,  representing  an  estimated  cash  value  of  $800,000,000., 
Education  is  largely  diffused  and  most  excellently  conducted  and  pro- 
vided for.  The  State  University  at  Ann  Arbor,  the  colleges  of  Detroit 
and  Kalamazoo,  the  Albion  Female  College,  the  State  Normal  School  at 
Ypsilanti,  and  the  State  Agricultural  College  at  Lansing,  are  chief  among 
the  academic  institutions.     Michigan  (a  term  of  Chippeway  origin,  and 


264  THE    NORTHWESTERN    STATES. 

signifying  "  Great  Lake),  was  discovered  and  first  settled  by  French 
Canadians,  who,  in  1670,  founded  Detroit,  the  pioneer  of  a  series  of  trad- 
ing-posts on  the  Indian  frontier.  During  the  "  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac," 
following  the  French  loss  of  Canada,  Michigan  became  the  scene  of  a 
sanguinary  struggle  between  the  whites  and  aborigines.  In  1796,  it 
became  annexed  to  the  United  States,  which  incorporated  this  region 
with  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  then  with  Indiana  Territory,  till  1803, 
when  it  became  territorially  independent.  Michigan  was  the  theater  of 
warlike  operations  during  the  war  of  1812  with  Great  Britain,  and  in 
1819  was  authorized  to  be  represented  by  one  delegate  in  Congress ;  iu 
1837  she  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State,  and  in  1869  ratified  the 
15th  Amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution.     Population,  1,184,059. 


WISCONSIN. 

It  has  a  mean  length  of  260  miles,  and  a  maximum  breadth  of  215. 
Land  area,  53,924  square  miles,  or  34,511,360  acres.  Wisconsin  lies  at  a 
considerable  altitude  above  sea-level,  and  consists  for  the  most  part  of  an 
upland  plateau,  the  surface  of  which  is  undulating  and  very  generally 
diversified.  Numerous  local  eminences  called  mounds  are  interspersed 
over  the  State,  and  the  Lake  Michigan  coast-line  is  in  many  parts  char- 
acterized by  lofty  escarped  cliffs,  even  as  on  the  west  side  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi  form  a  series  of  high  and  picturesque  bluffs.  A  group  of 
islands  known  as  The  Apostles  lie  off  the  extreme  north  point  of  the 
State  in  Lake  Superior,  and  the  great  estuary  of  Green  Bay,  running  far 
inland,  gives  formation  to  a  long,  narrow  peninsula  between  its  waters 
and  those  of  Lake  Michigan.  The  river-system  of  Wisconsin  has  three 
outlets  —  those  of  Lake  Superior,  Green  Bay,  and  the  Mississippi,  which 
latter  stream  forms  the  entire  southwest  frontier,  widening  at  one  point 
into  the  large  watery  expanse  called  Lake  Pejain.  Lake  Superior  receives 
the  St.  Louis,  Burnt  Wood,  and  Montreal  Rivers ;  Green  Bay,  the 
Menomonee,  Peshtigo,  Oconto,  and  Fox ;  while  into  the  Mississippi 
empty  the  St.  Croix,  Chippewa,  Black,  Wisconsin,  and  Rock  Rivers. 
The  chief  interior  lakes  are  those  of  Winnebago,  Horicon,  and  Court 
Oreilles,  and  smaller  sheets  of  water  stud  a  great  part  of  the  surface. 
The  climate  is  healthful,  with  cold  Winters  and  brief  but  very  warm 
Summers.  Mean  annual  rainfall  31  inches.  The  geological  system 
represented  bj^  the  State,  embraces  those  rocks  included  between  the 
primary  and  the  Devonian  series,  the  former  containing  extensive 
deposits  of  copper  and  iron  ore.  Besides  these  minerals,  lead  and  zinc 
are  found  in  great  quantities,  together  with  kaolin,  plumbago,  gypsum. 


THE    NORTHWESTERN    STATES.  265 

and  various  clays.     Mining,   consequently,  forms  a  prominent  industry,, 
and  one  of  yearly  increasing  dimensions.     The  soil  of  Wisconsin  is  of 
varying  quality,  but  fertile  on  the  whole,  and  in  the  north  parts  of  tire 
State  heavily  timbered.     The  agricultural  yield  comprises  the  cereals, 
together  with  flax,  hemp,  tobacco,  pulse,  sorgum,  and  all  kinds  of  vege- 
tables, and  of  the  hardier  fruits.     In  1870,  the  State  had  a  total  number 
of  102,904  farms,  occupying  11,715,321  acres,  of  which  5,899,343  con- 
sisted of  improved  land,  and  3,437,442  were  timbered.     Cash  value  of 
farms,  $300,414,064  ;  of  farm    implements  and  machinery,  $14,239,364, 
Total  estimated  value  of  all  farm  products,  including  betterments  and 
additions  to  stock,  $78,027,032  ;  of  orchard  and  dairy  stuffs,  $1,045,933  ; 
of  lumber,  $1,327,618 ;  of  home  manufactures,  $338,423  ;  of  all  live-stock, 
$45,310,882.     Number  of  manufacturing  establishments,  7,136,  employ- 
ing 39,055  hands,   and  turning  out  productions  valued  at  $85,624,966. 
The  political  divisions  of  the  State  form  61  counties,  and  the  chief  places 
of  wealth,  trade,  and  population,  are  Madison  (the  capital),  Milwaukee, 
Fond    du    Lac,   Oshkosh,    Prairie  du  Chien,    Janesville,    Portage    City, 
Racine,  Kenosha,  and  La  Crosse.     In  1870,  the  total  assessed  valuation, 
reached  $333,209,838,  as  against  a  true  valuation  of  both  real  and  personal 
estate  aggregating  $602,207,329.     Treasury  receipts  during  1870,  $886,- 
696  ;  disbursements,   $906,329.     Value    of  church  property,  $4,749,983> 
Education  is  amply  provided  for.    Independently  of  the  State  University 
at  Madison,  and  those  of  Galesville  and  of  Lawrence  at  Appleton,  and 
the  colleges  of  Beloit,  Racine,  and  Milton,  there   are  Normal  Schools  at 
Platteville  and  Whitewater.     The   State  is  divided  into  4,802  commoix 
school  districts,  maintained  at  a  cost,  in  1870,  of  $2,094,160.    The  chari- 
table institutions  of  Wisconsin   include  a  Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum,  an 
Institute  for  the  Education  of  the  Blind,  and  a  Soldiers'  Orphans'  School. 
In   January,   1870,  the    railroad  system  ramified  throughout   the   State 
totalized  2,779  miles  of  track,  including  several  lines  far  advanced  toward 
completion.     Immigration  is  successfully  encouraged  by  the  State  author- 
ities, the  larger  number  of  yearly  new-comers  being  of  Scandinavian  and 
German  origin.     The  territory  now  occupied  within  the  limits  of  the 
State  of  Wisconsin  was  explored  by  French  missionaries  and  traders  itl 
1639,  and  it   remained    under  French  jurisdiction    until    1703,  when  it 
became  annexed  to  the  British  North  American  possessions.     In  1796,  it 
reverted  to  the  United  States,  the  government  of  which  latter  admitted 
it  within  the  limits  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  in  1809,  attached  it 
to  that  of  Illinois,  and  to  Michigan  in  1818.    Wisconsin  became  independ- 
ently territorially  organized   in   1836,  and  became  a  State  of  the  Union,, 
March  3,  1847.     Population  in  1870,  1,064,985,  of  which   2,113  were  of 
the  colored    race,  and  11,521  Indians,  1,206  of  the   latter   being  out  of 
tribal  relations. 


266  THE    NORTHWESTERN    STATES. 


MINNESOTA. 


Its  length,  north  to  south,  embraces  an  extent  of  380  miles ;  its 
oreadth  one  of  250  miles  at  a  maximum.  Area,  84,000  square  miles,  or 
54,760,000  acres.  The  surface  of  Minnesota,  generally  speaking,  con- 
sists of  a  succession  of  gently  undulating  plains  and  prairies,  drained  by 
an  admirable  water-sj'stem,  and  with  here  and  there  heavily- timbered 
bottoms  and  belts  of  virgin  forest.  The  soil,  corresponding  with  such  a 
superfices,  is  exceptionally  rich,  consisting  for  the  most  part  of  a  dark, 
calcareous  sandy  drift  intermixed  with  loam.  A  distinguishing  physical 
feature  of  this  State  is  its  riverine  ramifications,  expanding  in  nearly 
every  part  of  it  into  almost  innumerable  lakes — the  whole  presenting  an 
aggregate  of  water-power  having  hardly  a  rival  in  the  Union.  Besides 
the  Mississij)pi  —  which  here  has  its  rise,  and  drains  a  basin  of  800  miles 
of  country  —  the  principal  streams  are  the  Minnesota  (334  miles  long), 
the  Red  River  of  the  North,  the  St.  Croix,  St.  Louis,  and  many  others  of 
lesser  importance ;  the  chief  lakes  are  those  called  Red,  Cass,  Leech, 
Mille  Lacs,  Vermillion,  and  Winibigosh.  Quite  a  concatenation  of  sheets 
of  water  fringe  the  frontier  line  where  Minnesota  joins  British  America, 
culminating  in  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  It  has  been  estimated,  that  of 
an  area  of  1,200,000  acres  of  surface  between  the  St.  Croix  and  Mis- 
sissix^pi  Rivers,  not  less  than  73,000  acres  are  of  lacustrine  formation.  In 
point  of  minerals,  the  resources  of  Minnesota  have  as  yet  been  very 
imperfectly  developed;  iron,  copper,  coal,  lead  —  all  these  are  known  to 
exist  in  considerable  deposits  ;  together  with  salt,  limestone,  and  potter's 
cla}^  The  agricultural  outlook  of  the  State  is  in  a  high  degree  satis- 
factory ;  wheat  constitutes  the  leading  cereal  in  cultivation,  with  Indian 
corn  and  oats  in  next  order.  Fruits  and  vegetables  are  grown  in  great 
plenty  and  of  excellent  quality.  The  lumber  resources  of  Minnesota  are 
important ;  the  pine  forests  in  the  north  region  alone  occupying  an  area 
of  some  21,000  square  miles,  which  in  1870  produced  a  return  of  scaled 
loo-s  amounting:'  to  313,116,416  feet.  The  natural  industrial  advantages 
possessed  by  Minnesota  are  largely  improved  upon  by  a  railroad  system. 
The  political  divisions  of  this  State  number  78  counties ;  of  which  tlie 
chief  cities  and  towns  are :  iSt.  Paul  (the  capital),  Stillwater,  Red  Wing, 
St.  Anthony,  Fort  Snelling,  Minneapolis,  and  Mankato.  Minnesota  has 
already  assumed  an  attitude  of  high  importance  as  a  manufacturing  State ; 
this  is  mainly  due  to  the  wonderful  command  of  water-power  she  pos- 
sesses, as  before  spoken  of.  Besides  her  timber-trade,  the  milling  of 
flour,  the  distillation  of  whisky,  and  the  tanning  of  leather,  are  prominent 
interests,  which  in  1869,  gave   returns  to  the   amount  of  ^14,831,043. 


TME    NORTHAVESTERN    STATES.  .  267 

Education  is  notably  provided  for  on  a  broad  and  catholic  scale,  the 
entire  amount  expended  scholastically  during  the  year  1870  being  $857,- 
816  ;  while  on  November  30  of  the  preceding  year  the  permanent  school 
fund  stood  at  $2,476,222.  Besides  a  University  and  Agricultural  College, 
Normal  and  Reform  Schools  flourish,  and  with  these  may  be  mentioned 
such  various  philanthropic  and  religious  institutions  as  befit  the  needs  of 
an  intelligent  and  prosperous  community.  The  finances  of  the  State  for 
the  fiscal  year  terminating  December  1,  1870,  exhibited  a  balance  on  the 
right  side  to  the  amount  of  $136,164,  being  a  gain  of  $44,000  over  the 
previous  year's  figures.  The  earliest  exploration  of  Minnesota  by  the 
whites  was  made  in  1680  by  a  French  Franciscan,  Father  Hennepin,  who 
gave  the  name  of  St.  Antony  to  the  Great  Falls  on  the  Upper  Missisippi. 
In  1763,  the  Treaty  of  Versailles  ceded  this  region  to  England. 
Twenty  years  later,  Minnesota  formed  part  of  the  Northwest  Territory 
transferred  to  the  United  States,  and  became  herself  territorialized  inde- 
pendently in  1849.  Indian  cessions  in  1851  enlarged  her  boundaries,  and, 
May  11,  1857,  Minnesota  became  a  unit  of  the  great  American  federation 
of  States.     Population,  439,706. 


NEBRASKA. 

Maximum  length,  412  miles ;  extreme  breadth,  208  miles.  Area, 
75,905  square  miles,  or  48,636,800  acres.  The  surface  of  this  State  is 
almost  entirely  undulating  prairie,  and  forms  part  of  the  west  slope  of 
the  great  central  basin  of  the  North  American  Continent.  In  its  west 
division,  near  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  is  a  sandy  belt  of 
country,  irregularly  defined.  In  this  part,  too,  are  the  "  dunes,"  resem- 
bling a  wavy  sea  of  sandy  billows,  as  well  as  the  Mauvaises  Terres,  a  tract 
of  singular  formation,  produced  by  eccentric  disintegrations  and  denuda- 
tions of  the  land.  The  chief  rivers  are  the  Missouri,  constituting  its  en- 
tire east  line  of  demarcation ;  the  Nebraska  or  Platte,  the  Niobrara,  the 
Republican  Fork  of  the  Kansas,  the  Elkhorn,  and  the  Loup  Fork  of  the 
Platte.  The  soil  is  very  various,  but  consisting  chiefly  of  rich,  bottomy 
loam,  admirably  adapted  to  the  raising  of  heavy  crops  of  cereals.  All 
the  vegetables  and  fruits  of  the  temperate  zone  are  produced  in  great 
size  and  plenty.  For  grazing  purposes  Nebraska  is  a  State  exceptionally 
well  fitted,  a  region  of  not  less  than  23,000,000  acres  being  adaptable  to 
this  branch  of  husbandry.  It  is  believed  that  the,  as  yet,  comparatively 
infertile  tracts  of  land  fotmd  in  various  parts  of  the  State  are  susceptible 
of  productivity  by  means  of  a  properly  conducted  system  of  irrigation. 
Few   minerals  of  moment  have   so  far   been   found   within   the  limits  of 


168 


THE    NORTIIWESTEKN    STATES. 


Nebraska,  if  we  ma}'  except  important  saline  deposits  at  the  head  of  Salt 
Creeic  in  its  southeast  section.  The  State  is  divided  into  67  counties, 
independent  of  the  Pawnee  and  Winnebago  Indians,  and  of  unorganized 
territory  in  the  northwest  part.  The  principal  towns  are  Omaha,  Lincoln 
(State  capital),  Nebraska  City,  Columbus,  Grand  Island,  etc.  In  1870, 
the  total  assessed  value  of  property  amounted  to  $53,000,000,  being  an 
increase  of  811,000,000  over  the  previous  3'ear's  returns.  The  total 
amount  received  from  the  school-fund  during  the  year  1869-70  was 
$77,999.  Education  is  making  great  onward  strides,  the  State  University 
and  an  Agricultural  College  being  far  advanced  toward  completion.  In 
the  matter  of  railroad  communication,  Nebraska  bids  fair  to  soon  place 
herself  on  a  par  with  her  neighbors  to  the  east.  Besides  being  inter- 
sected by  the  Union  Pacific  line,  with  its  off-shoot,  the  Fremont  and  Blair, 
other  tracks  are  in  course  of  rapid  construction.  Organized  by  Con- 
gressional Act  into  a  Territory,  May  30,  I80I,  Nebraska  entered  the 
Union  as  a  full  State,  March  1,  1867.     Population,  122,993. 


^  iniXTlX(i    PKAIKIE    WOLVES    IN    AN"    EARLY    DAY. 


CONSTITUTION   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  269 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES    OF   AMERICA 
AND  ITS  AMENDMENTS. 

We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union, 
establish  jzistice,  insure  do7nestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  coWimon 
defense,  promote  the  general  xoelfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty 
to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution 
for  the  United  States  of  America. 

Article  I. 

Section  1.  All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in 
a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives. 

Sec.  2.     The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of  mem- 
bers chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  states,  and  the 
lectors  in  each  state  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of 
the  most  numerous  branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 

No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the 
age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  state  in 
which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  sev- 
eral states  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according  to  their 
respective  numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole 
number  of  free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of 
years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  other  persons. 
The  actual  enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within  every  subse- 
quent term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct.  The 
number  of  Representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand, 
but  each  state  shall  have  at  least  one  Representative  ;  and  until  such 
enumeration  shall  be  made  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled 
to  choose  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plan= 
tations  one,  Connecticut  five,  New  York  six,  New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylva- 
nia eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten.  North  Carolina  five, 
and  Georgia  three. 

When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  state,  the 
Executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such 
vacancies. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker  and  other 
officers,  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Sec.  3.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two 
Senators  from  each  state,  chosen  by  the  Legislature  thereof  for  six  years ; 
and  each  Senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence  of  the  first 
election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into  three  classes. 
The  seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expira- 


270  -^^^   ITS   AMENDMENTS. 

tion  of  the  second  year,  of  the  second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth 
year,  and  of  the  third  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that 
one-third  may  be  chosen  every  second  year;  and  if  vacancies  happen  by 
resignation  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  Legislature  of  any  state, 
the  Executive  thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age 
of  thirty  years  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  aud 
who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  state  for  which  he 
shall  be  chosen. 

The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President  of  th 
Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a  President  pro 
tempore,  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he  shall  exercise 
the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  powder  to  try  all  impeachments.  When 
sitting  for  that  purpose  they  shall  be  on  oath  or  affirmation.  When  the 
President  of  the  United  States  is  tried  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside. 
And  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds 
of  the  members  present. 

Judgment,  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  not  extend  further  than  to 
removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of 
honor,  trust,  or  profit  under  the  United  States  (  but  the  party  convicted 
shall  nevertheless  be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment, 
and  punishment  according  to  law. 

Sec.  4.  The  times,  places  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  Sen- 
ators and  Representatives  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  state  by  the  Legis- 
lature thereof ;  but  the  Congress  mnj  at  any  time  by  law  make  or  alter 
such  regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing  Senators, 

The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and  such 
meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they  shall  by 
law  appoint  a  different  day. 

Sec.  5.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  election,  returns,  and 
qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute 
a  quorum  to  do  business;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to 
day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members 
in  such  manner  and  under  such  penalties  as  each  house  may  provide. 

Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,  punish  its 
members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds, 
expel  a  member. 

Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from  time  to 
time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may,  in  their  judgment, 
require  secrecy ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  house 
on  any  question  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered 
on  the  journal. 

Neither  house,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without  the 
consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other 
place  than  that  in  which  the  two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Sec.  6.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a  compen- 
sation for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the 
treasury  of  the  United  States,     They  shall  in  ail  cases,  except  treason, 


CONSTITUTION   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  271 

felony,  and  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their 
attendance  at  the  session  of  their  respective  houses,  and  in  going  to  and 
returning  from  the  same;  and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  house 
they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  place. 

No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which  he  was 
elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the  United 
States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall 
have  been  increased  during  such  time  ;  and  no  person  holding  any  office 
under  the  United  States,  shall  be  a  member  of  either  house  during  his 
continuance  in  office. 

Sec.  7.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House  of 
Representatives ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  amendments 
as  on  ether  bills. 

Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and 
the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  becomes  a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President 
.  the  United  States ;  if  he  approve  he  shall  sign  it ;  but  if  not  he  shall 
return  it,  with  his  objections,  to  that  house  in  which  it  shall  have  origi- 
nated, who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal,  and 
proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If,  after  such  reconsideration  two-thirds  of  that 
house  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objec- 
tions, to  the  other  house,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if 
approved  by  two-thirds  of  that  house,  it  shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all 
such  cases  the  votes  of  both  houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays, 
and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be  entered 
on  the  journal  of  each  house  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned 
by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sundays  exbepted),  after  it  shall  have 
been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he 
had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress,  by  their  adjournment,  prevent  its 
return,  in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concurrence  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except  on  a 
question  of  adjournment),  shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  before  the  same  shall  take  effect  shall  be  approved  by 
him,  or,  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  re-passed  by  two-thirds  of 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and  lim- 
itations prescribed  in  the  case  of  a  bill. 

Sec.  8.     The  Congress  shall  have  power — 

To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts  and  excises,  to  pay  the  debts, 
and  provide  for  the  common  defense  and  general  welfare  of  the  United 
Jtates ;  but  all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout 
the  United  States ; 

To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States ; 

To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the  several 
3tr.tes,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ; 

To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform  laws  on 
the  subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States ; 

To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin,  and 
fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures ; 

To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities  and 
current  coin  of  the  United  States; 

To  establish  post  offices  and  post  roads ; 


272  -^NI^   l-^'S   AMENDMENTS. 

To  promote  the  progress  of  sciences  and  useful  arts,  by  securing, 
for  limited  times,  to  authors  and  inventors,  the  exclusive  right  to  ilieir 
respective  -writings  and  discoveries  ; 

To  coustitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreu\e  Court; 

To  detine  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high 
se»is,  and  oifenses  against  the  law  of  nations  ; 

To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make  rules 
concerning  captures  on  land  and  water  ; 

To  raise  aiid  support  armies,  but  no  appropriation  of  money  to  that 
use  shall  be  for  tt.  longer  term  than  two  years; 

To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy ; 

To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  laud  and 
naval  forces ; 

To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the 
Union,  suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions  ; 

To  provide  for  organizing,  arming  and  disciplining  the  militia,  and 
for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  reserving  to  the  states  respectively  the  appointment  of  the 
officers,  and  the  authority  of  training  the  militia  according  to  the  disci- 
pline prescribed  by  Congress ; 

To  exercise  legislation  in  all  oases  whatsoever  over  such  district  (not 
exceeding  ten  miles  squared  as  may,  by  cession  of  particular  states,  and  the 
acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the 
consent  of  the  Legislature  of  the  state  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for 
the  erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dock  yards,  and  other  needful 
buildings  ;  and 

To  inake  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying 
into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  otlier  powers  vested  by  this 
Constitution  in  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  depart- 
ment or  officer  thereof. 

Sec.  0.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the 
states  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohilited 
by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight, 
but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not  exceeding  ten 
dollars  for  each  person. 

The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended, 
unless  when  in  oases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety  may 
require  it. 

No  bill  of  attainder  or  <\r  post  facto  law  sliall  be  passed. 

No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  proportion 
to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to  be  taken. 

No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any  state. 

No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or  rev 
enue  to  the  ports  of  one  state  over  those  of  another:  nor  shall  vessels 
bound  to  or  from  one  state  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in 
another. 

No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury,  but  in  consequence  of 
appropriations  made  by  law ;  and  a  regular  statement  and  account  of 
the  receipts  and  expeditures  of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from 
time  to  time. 


CONSTITUTION   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  273 

No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States :  and  no 
person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them,  shall,  without  the 
consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title 
of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  state. 

Sec.  10.  No  state  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confeder- 
ation ;  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal ;  coin  money ;  emit  bills  of 
credit ;  make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of 
debts ;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the 
obligation  of  contracts,  or  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any  imposts 
or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary 
for  executing  its  inspection  laws,  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties  and 
imposts  laid  by  any  state  on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States  \  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the 
revision  and  control  of  the  Congress. 

No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  duty  on 
tonnage,  keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into  any 
agreement  or  compact  with  another  state,  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or 
engage  in  war,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will 
not  admit  of  delay. 

Article  II. 

Section  1.  The  Executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term 
of  four  years,  and,  together  with  the  Vice-President  chosen  for  the  same 
term,  be  elected  as  follows : 

Each  state  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  Legislature  thereof 
may  direct,  a  number  of  Electors,  equal  to  the  whole  number  of  Senators 
and  Representatives  to  which  the  state  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress; 
but  no  Senator  or  Representative,  or  person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or 
profit  under  tho  United  States,  shall  be  appointed  an  Elector. 

[  *  Tlie  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and  vote  by 
ballot  for  two  persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of 
the  same  state  with  themselves.  And  they  shall  make  a  list  of  all  the 
persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each  ;  which  list  they 
shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit,  sealed,  to  the  seat  of  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The  Pres- 
ident of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted. 
The  person  having  tlie  greatest  number  of  votes  shall  be  the  President, 
if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  Electors  appointed ; 
and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  majority,  and  have  an  equal 
number  of  votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  immediately 
choose  by  ballot  one  of  them  for  President ;  and  if  no  person  have  a  ma- 
jority, then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  list  the  said  House  shall  in  like 
manner  choose  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  vote 
shall  be  taken  by  states,  the  representation  from  each  state  having  one 
vote  ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members 
from  two-thirds  of  the  states,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be 
necessary  to  a  choice.     In  every  case,  after  the  choice  of  the  President, 

•  This  clause  between  brackets  has  been  superseded  and  auuuUcd  by  the  Twelfth  amendment 


274  AND   ITS   AMENDMENTS. 

the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  of  the  Electors  shall  be 
the  Vice-President.  But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  have 
equal  votes,  the  Senate  shall  choose  from  them  by  ballot  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent.] 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  Electors,  and 
the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes ;  which  day  shall  be  the  same 
throughout  the  United  States. 

No  person  except  a  natural  born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  eligible 
to  the  office  of  President ;  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that 
office  who  shall  not  have  attained  the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been 
fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the  United  States. 

In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his  death, 
resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  said 
office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President,  and  the  Congress 
may  by  law  provide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or  inabil- 
ity, both  of  the  President  and  Vice-President,  declaring  what  officer  shall 
then  act  as  President,  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  dis- 
ability be  removed,  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services  a  com- 
pensation which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during  the 
period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive 
within  that  period  any  other  emolument  from  the  United  States  or  any  of 
them. 

Before  he  enters  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take  the  fol- 
lowing oath  or  affirmation: 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability, 
preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

Sec.  2.  The  President  shall  be  commander  in  chief  of  the  army  and 
navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  states,  when 
called  into  the  actual  service  of  the  United  States;  he  may  require  the 
opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive 
departments,  upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  resj^ective 
offices,  and  he  shall  have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardon  for  offenses 
against  the  United  States,  ex-cept  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
S^ate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  Senators  present  con- 
cur; ai)d  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  of  the  Senate, 
!;hall  appoint  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  United  States  whose 
appointments  are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be 
established  by  law ;  but  the  Congress  may  by  law  vest  the  appointment 
of  such  inferior  officers  as  they  think  proper  in  the  President  alone,  in 
the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that  may 
happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commissions  which 
shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 

Sec.  3.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress  information 
of  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  mea- 
sures as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient ;  he  may  on  extraordinary 


CONSTITUTION   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  275 

occasions  convene  both  houses,  or  either  of  them,  and  in  case  of  disagree- 
ment between  them,  with  respect  to  tlie  time  of  adjournment,  he  maj 
adjourn  them  to  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper ;  he  shall  receive 
ambassadors  and  other  public  ministers ;  he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be 
faithfully  executed,  and  shall  commission  all  the  officers  of  the  United 
States. 

Sec.  4.     The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the 
United  States,  shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  for,  and  con 
viction  of,  treason,  bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

Article  III. 

Section  I.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested 
in  one  Supreme  Court,  and  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Congress  may  from 
time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The  Judges,  both  of  the  Supreme  and 
inferior  courts,  sliall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at 
stated  times,  receive  for  their  services  a  compensation,  which  shall  not  be 
diminished  during  their  continuance  in  office. 

Sec.  2,  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in  law  and 
equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and 
treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their  authority;  to  all  cases 
affecting  ambassadors,  otlier  public  ministers,  and  consuls  ;  to  all  cases  of 
admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction  ;  to  controversies  to  which  the  United 
States  shall  be  a  party ;  to  controversies  between  two  or  more  states ; 
between  a  state  and  citizens  of  another  state  ;  between  citizens  of  differ- 
ent states ;  between  citizens  of  the  same  state  claiming  lands  under  grants 
of  different  states,  and  between  a  state  or  the  citizens  tliereof,  and  foreign 
states,  citizens,  or  subjects. 

In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers,  and  consuls, 
and  those  in  which  a  state  shall  be  a  party,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have 
original  jurisdiction. 

In  all  the  other  cases  before  mentioned,  the  Supreme  Court  shall 
have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions 
and  under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  be  hy 
jury  ;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  state  where  the  said  crimes  shall 
have  been  committed  ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  state,  the 
trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have 
directed. 

Sec.  3.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in  levy- 
ing war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid 
and  comfort.  No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  tes- 
timony of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open 
court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of  treason 
but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture 
except  during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

Article  IV. 

Section  1.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  state  to  the 
public  acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  everv  other  state.      A.ud 


276  AND   ITS    AMENDMENTS. 

tlie  Congress  may,  by  general  laws,  prescribe  the  manner  in  -wliicli  such 
acts,  records,  and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

Sec.  2.  The  citizens  of  each  state  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges 
and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  states. 

A  person  charged  in  any  state  with  treason,  felony,  or  other  crime, 
who  sliall  flee  from  justice  and  be  found  in  another  state,  shall,  on  demand 
of  the  executive  authority  of  the  state  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered 
up,  to  be  removed  to  the  state  having  jurisdicl'on  of  the  crime. 

No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  state,  under  the  laws  thereof 
escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation 
therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered 
up  on  the  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Sec.  3.  New  states  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this  Union ; 
but  no  ncAV  state  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  an}'- 
other  state  ;  nor  any  state  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  states, 
or  parts  of  states,  withottt  the  consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  states 
concerned,  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful 
rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property  belonging 
to  the  United  States ;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so  constrtied 
as  to  prejttdice  any  claims  of  the  United  States  or  of  any  particular  state. 

Sec.  4.  The  United  States  shall  gtiarantee  to  ever}'-  state  in  this 
Union  a  republican  form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them 
against  invasion,  and  on  application  of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  Execu- 
tive (when  the  Legislature  can  not  be  convened),  against  domestic  vio- 
lence. 

Article  V. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  houses  shall  deem  it 
necessary,  shall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  ap- 
plication of  the  Legislattires  of  two-thirds  of  the  several  states,  shall  call 
a  convention  for  proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either  case,  shall  be 
valid  to  all  intents  and  ptirposes  as  part  of  this  Constitution,  when  rati- 
fied by  the  Legislatures  of  tliree  fourths  of  the  several  states,  or  by  con- 
ventions in  three-fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratifi- 
cation may  be  proposed  by  the  Congress.  Provided  that  no  amendment 
which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
eight  shall  in  au}^  manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth 
section  of  the  first  article ;  and  that  no  state,  without  its  consent,  shall 
be  deprived  of  its  equal  stiffrage  in  the  Senate. 

Article  VL 

All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into  before  the  adop- 
tion of  this  Constittition  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United  States  under 
this  Constittition  as  under  the  Confederation. 

This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which  shall  be 
made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made, 
under  the  authority  of  the  LTnited  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the 
land ;  and  the  Judges  in  every  state  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything  in 
the  Constitution  or  laws  of  any  state  to  the  contrary  notAvithstanding. 

The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the  mem- 


CONSTITUTION   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES 


277 


"bers  of  the  several  state  Legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial  offi- 
cers, both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several  states,  shall  be  bound 
by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  this  Constitution  ;  but  no  religious  test 
shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust  under 
the  United  States. 

Article  VII. 

The  ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  states  shall  be  sufficient 
for  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the  states  so  ratifying 
the  same. 

Done  in  convention  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  states  present,  the 
seventeenth  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  and  of  the  independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America  the  twelfth.  In  witness  whereof  we  have 
hereunto  subscribed  our  names. 

GEO.  WASHINGTON, 
President  and  Deputy  from  Virginia. 


New  Hampshire. 
John  Langdon, 
Nicholas  Gilman. 

Massachusetts. 
Nathaniel  Gorham, 
Rupus  King. 

Connecticut. 
Wm.  Sam'l  Johnson, 
Roger  Sherman. 

New  York, 
Alexander  Hamilton. 

New  Jersey. 
WiL.  Livingston, 
Wm.  Paterson, 
David  Brearley, 
JoNA.  Dayton. 

Pennsylvania. 
B.  Franklin, 
RoBT.  Morris, 
Thos.  Fitzsemons, 
James  Wilson, 
Thos.  Mifflin, 
Geo.  Clymer, 
Jared  Ingersoll, 
Gouv.  Morris. 


Delaware. 
Geo.  Read, 
John  Dickinson, 
Jaco.  Broom, 
Gunning  Bedford,  Jr., 
Richard  Bassett. 

Maryland. 
James  M' Henry, 
Danl.  Carroll, 
Dan.  of  St.  Thos.  Jenifer. 

Virginia. 
John  Blair, 
James  Madison,  Jr. 

North  Carolina. 
Wm.  Blount, 
Hu  Williamson, 
Rich'd  Dobbs  Spaight. 

South  Carolina. 
j.  rutledge, 
Charles  Pinckney, 
Chas.  Cotesworth  Pinckney, 
Pierce  Butler. 

Georgia. 
William  Few, 
Abr.  Baldwin. 

WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Secretary. 


AKD   ITS   AMENDMENTS. 


Articles  in  Addition  to  axd   Amendatoky  of  the  Constitution 

OF  THE  United  States  of  America, 

Proposed  hi/  Oomjriss  and  ratijied  hi/  the  Lcijhlatio'cs  of  tJie  several  states, 
pursuant  to  the  fifth  article  of  the  oriijinaJ  Constitutioti. 

Article  I. 

CoiigTess  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  esmblisliment  cf  religion, 
or  prohilnring  the  free  exereij^ thereof ;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of 
speech,  or  of  the  press:  or  tlili  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble, 
and  to  petition  the  Government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

Article  II . 

A  well  regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free 
state,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 

Article  III. 

No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house  without 
the  consent  of  the  owner,  noi-  in  time  of  war  but  in  a  manner  to  be  pre- 
scribed by  law. 

Article  IV. 

The  right  of  tlie  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers, 
and  etfects  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  vio- 
lated ;  and  no  warrants  shall  issue  but  tipon  probable  catise,  supported  by 
oath  or  allirmation,  and  partietdarly  describing  the  place  to  be  searched 
and  the  persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 

Article  V. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or  otherwise  infamous 
crime,  unless  on  a  presentuienc  or  indictment  of  a  Grand  Jury,  except  in 
cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia  when  in  actual 
service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger ;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject 
for  the  same  offense  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb  ;  nor  shall 
be  compelled  in  any  criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be 
deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  Avithout  due  process  of  law;  nor 
shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use.  without  just  compensation. 

Article  VI. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to  o 
speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  state  and  district 
wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have 
been  previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and 
cause  of  the  accusation;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him; 
to  have  compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor;  and  to 
have  the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defense. 

Article  VII. 

In  suits  at  common  law.  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall  exceed 
twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trif\l  by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no  tact 


4,t^ 


'  :/ki 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE   UNITED    STATES         '  281 

tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the  United 
States  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law. 

Article  VIII. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed, 
nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

Article  IX. 

The  enumeration,  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights,  shall  not  be 
construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 

ArvTiCLE  X. 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution, 
nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  states,  are  reserved  to  the  states  respectively, 
or  to  the  people. 

Article  XI. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed  to 
extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity  commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one 
of  the  United  States  by  citizens  of  another  state,  or  by  citizens  or  sub- 
jects of  any  foreign  state. 

Article  XII. 

The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states  and  vote  by  ballot 
for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an 
inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with  themselves ;  they  shall  name  in  their 
ballots  the  person  to  be  voted  for  as  president,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the 
person  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of 
all  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice- 
President,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  list  thej'  shall  sign 
and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the 
Senate  shall,  in  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Rejpresentatives, 
open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  person 
having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  President  shall  be  the  President, 
if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  Electors  appointed ; 
and  if  no  person  have  such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the 
highest  number  not  exceeding  three  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as 
President,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by 
ballot,  the  President,  But  in  choosing  the  President,,  the  votes  shall  be 
taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each  state  having  one  vote;  a 
quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two- 
tliirds  of  the  states,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to 
a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a  Presi- 
dent whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the 
fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as 
President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of 
the  President.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice- 
President,  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  the  majority 
of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a  major- 


282  AND  ITS  AMENDMENTS. 

itj;  then  from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose 
the  Vice-President ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds 
of  the  whole  number  of  Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number 
shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible 
to  the  office  of  President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States. 

Aeticle  XIII. 

Section  1.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a 
punishment  for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted, 
shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  juris- 
diction. 

Sec.  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appro- 
priate legislation. 

Aeticle  XIV. 

Section  1.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States  and 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and 
of  the  state  wherein  they  reside.  No  state  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law 
which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States;  nor  shall  any  state  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property, 
without  due  process  of  law,  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction 
the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

Sec.  2.  Representatives  shall  be  appointed  among  the  several  states 
according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  per- 
sons in  each  state,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed ;  but  when  the  right  to 
vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice  of  Electors  for  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  Representatives  in  Congress,  the  execu- 
tive and  judicial  officers  of  a  state,  or  the  members  of  the  Legislature 
thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  state,  being 
twenty-one  years  of  age  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  way 
abridged  except  for  participation  in  rebellion  or  other  crimes,  the  basis  of 
representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  num- 
ber of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens 
twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  state. 

Sec.  3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Representative  in  Congress, 
or  Elector  of  President  and  Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or 
military,  under  the  United  States,  or  under  any  state,  who,  having  previ- 
ously taken  an  oath  as  a  Member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the 
United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  state  Legislature,  or  as  an  execu- 
tive or  judicial  officer  of  any  state  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the 
same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof.  But  Congress  may 
by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  house,  remove  such  disability. 

Sec.  4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States  author- 
ized by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pensions  and  boun- 
ties for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  ques- 
tioned. But  neither  the  United  States  nor  any  state  shall  pay  any  debt 
or  obligation  incurred  in  the  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the 
United  States,  or  any  loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave,  but  such  debts, 
obligations,  and  claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 


CONSTITUTION    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


283 


Aeticle  xy. 

Section  1.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not 
be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  by  any  State,  on  account  of 
race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

VOTE  FOR  GOVERNOR,  1877,  AND  PRESIDENT,  1876. 


Counties. 


Adair 

Adams 

Allamakee  . . . 
Appanoose  ..., 

Audubon 

Benton 

Black  Hawk.. 

Boone 

Bremer 

Buchanan 

Buena  Vista.. 

Butler 

Calhoun 

Carroll 

Cass 

Cedar 

Cerro  Gordo.. 

Cherokee 

Chickasaw  ..., 

Clark 

Clay 

Clayton 

Clinton 

Crawford 

Dallas 

Davis 

Dacatur 

Delaware , 

Des  Moines  ... 

Dickinson 

Dubuque 

Emmett 

Fayette - 

Floyd , 

Franklin 

Fremont 

Greene 

Grundy......... 

Guthrie 

Hamilton 

Hancock 

Hardin 

Harrison 

Henry  

Howard 

Humboldt 

Ida 

Iowa 

Jackson , 

Jasper 

Jefferson 


1877. 
Governor. 


Rep.    Dem.      Gr.      Pro 


982 

876 
1547 
1165 

410 
1432 
1780 
1612 
1180 
1290 

747 
1453 

418 

633 
1592 
1315 

903 

562 
1279 
1054 

517 
1873 
2444 

898 
1541 

893 
1269 
1226 
2315 

197 
1587 

213 
1933 
1233 
1311 
1250 
1031 

909 
1160 

842 

340 
1492 
1348 
1770 

551 

382 

321 
1132 
1619 
1977 
1396 


101 

397 
1540 
1049 

352 

71 

nil 

981 
582 
769 
192 
758 
75 
744 
839 

1093 

348 

74 

1107 

267 

16 

1770 

2327 
651 
215 

1231 
961 

1143 

1384 


3415 

28 

1067 

208 

336 

1331 

215 

504 

496 

205' 

95 

661 

86) 

424 

047 

149 

54 

1120 

1960 

1154 

753 


581 

485 
69 

729 

20 
567 

95 
466 
196 
725 
161 

19 
171 
141 
116 
206 

72 
383 

37 
813 

20 

66 
286 

19 

1241 

803 

311 

32 
767 


406 


162 

16 

334 

551 


364 
422 
29 
238 
523 

1041 
201 
115 
104 
642 
224 

1018 
576 


1876. 
President. 


Rep.    Dem 


449 

244 

10 

1 

223 
20 
95 
74 
11 
30 

446 
40 
86 
94 
19 
67 

167 
66 

111 
80 
12 
19 

525 

6 

12 

53 


51 

57 

2 

1.54 

19 
140 
519 

64 


228 

15 

263 

109 


1334 

1376 

1709 

1711 

427 

290l| 

2979 

2018 

1737 

2227 

770 

1828 

022 

799 

1876 

2328 

1274 

861 

1574 

1405 

567 

2662 

3654 

1043 

21.36 

1586 

1647 

2233 

3325 

259 

2798 

246 

3029 

2U32 

1178 

1658 

1310 

1099 

1434 

1187 

281 

2152 

1557 

2809 

1194 

523 

21  i 

1870 

2126 

3375 

2106 


593 

620 

1646 

1419 

352 

1356 

1592 

1305 

757 

1416 

200 

780 

196 

771 

979 

1445 

448 

175 

1090 

816 

94 

2621 

3398 

638 

752 

1631 

1282 

1466 

2917 

48 

4977 

36 

1709 

751 

379 

1682 

510 

417 

629 

425 

99 

980 

1386 

1485 

600 

1S3 

57 

1348 

2485 

1804 

1449 


Counties. 


Johnson 

Jones 

Keokuk  

Kossuth 

Lee 

Linn  

Louisa 

Lucas  

Lyon  

Madison 

Mahaska 

Marion 

Marshall 

Mills 

Mitchell 

Monona  

Monroe  

Montgomery . 

Muscatine 

O'Brien 

Osceola 


1877. 
Governor. 


Rep.    Dem.  I    Gr. 


Palo  Alto 

Plymouth 

Pocahontas 

jPolk 

Pottawattamie.... 

Poweshiek 

Ringgold 

Sac 

Scott  

Shilby 

Sioux  

story  

Tama 

Taylor  

Union 

Van  Buren 

Wapello 

Warren 

.Washington 

Wayne  

Webster 

Winnebago 

j  Winneshiek 

iWoodbury 

Worth 

Wright 


Totals. 


1884 

1808 

1772 

463 

2157 

2524 

1328 

1203 

261 

1792 

1823 

1976 

1448 

1435 

1396 

680 

1034 

1122 

1753 

306 

295 

1166 

311 

779 

370 

3171 

2223 

1496 

964 

6£6 

3031 

8S« 

436 

1260 

1426 

1325 

899 

1490 

17  0 

1726 

1087 

1316 

850 

544 

2074 

1109 

628 

3in 


121 


2345 

1218| 

1526) 

236 

2863 

2316 

817 

804 

17 

1077 

10S6 

1866 

837 

1102 

459 

119 

928 

441 

1775 

21 

40 

508' 

357' 

487  j 

93 

18S5t 

2059 


18 

14 

322 

13 

350 

75 

89 

103 

9 

616 

1011 

760 

3S9 

98 

35 

432 

247 

532 

171 

201 

13 

34'; 


71 

128 
1903 

639 

132 

344 

833 

293 

516 
1305 
1029 

944 
1221 

832 

127 
40' 
1009!       279 

867i       226 

132  8 

106       11' 


77 
44 

1353 
218 
420 
071 
177 
309 
3 
49 
641 
196 
S6S 
830 
301 

1205 
742 
303 
404 

1421 


1876. 
President, 


Rep.  Dem. 


273 
6S 

105 
89 

299 

585 

108 
12 
14 
56 

590 
95 

504 
28 
36 
9 
26 
47 

387 
14 
33 

293 
3 
39 
30 
94 

121 

346 
47 
13 
37 
16 


187 
133 


63 
130 
290 
101 
112 
3 

47 


2154r 
Majorities |  4j19:'. 


79353 


3422.' 


238 

9 

14 

9S 


2345 

2.591 

2364 

638 

3160 

4331 

1920 

1478 

262 

2246 

3221 

2736 

3056 

1452 

1663 

713 

1418 

1749 

2523 

463 

329 

2243; 

343 

835, 

374 

4321 

2565J 

2509! 

12461 

061 

3819! 

897j 

43&I 

184.3; 

2337 

1727 

123Sl 

2113' 

2582 

243